Hey there. I've got some good news from all over the world to share with you. That includes backpack wearing dogs on a mission to help a nature reserve in the UK. Plus
You know, I think design can impact communities in lots of different ways in the way people live. We're using it in this instance to help, hopefully help and heal and educate.
You'll learn how architects are using cutting edge technology to print, yes print, a brand new village in Tanzania. From CNN, I'm Krista Bo and this is Five Good Things.
An orchestra is, it's like a community. Different people, different voices, different melodies. Everybody have their own role and they all connect to each other.
That's Ron Davis Alvarez, an accomplished violinist and orchestra conductor who's transforming the lives of immigrants and refugees through music.
Imagine if the world work more like an orchestra. We would have a better world for sure.
'The 38-year-old grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, surrounded by drugs and violence. As a kid, he found solace and an escape through music. By the age of 14, Ron was teaching other kids and teens how to play stringed instruments, like the violin and cello. Hoping to give them the same kind of comfort he had found in music. In 2015, during a visit to Sweden as a college student, he was standing on a train platform in Stockholm, stunned by what he saw: crowds of exhausted refugees getting off trains from war torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
It's like, imagine for a moment in your life that you have to be in a place that you don't know, that you don't speak the language and you don't know where are you going, but you just want to go because you need to go. So that was my feeling when I see all these young people. They were completely lost.
Ron believed that music could offer them hope and a sense of belonging. So when he later moved to Sweden, he founded the Dream Orchestra. It's a free program for anyone, regardless of age, background or language, can learn to play an instrument and perform together. Since its founding in 2016, more than 300 participants from 25 countries have been a part of it. And this year, Ron earned the title of CNN Hero.
Dream Orchestra is more than just notes. This offers something for your soul. It's a dream, but it's a dream who come true.
To learn more about Ron and the members of the Dream Orchestra, head to see cnn.com/heroes. The link is also in our show notes.
'Okay, picture this. You're out on a walk in nature and a cute dog passes you wearing a backpack. You'd probably be like, how adorable. Well, if you see them at the Lewis Railway Land Nature Reserve in the southeast coast of England -- just know, they're on official business.
You know, dogs, they love to run. They love to run around the jump over the trees and branches. And they can get into places that we, you know, humans don't go.
Steve Lewis and his adorable labradoodle crumble and 11 other dogs are a part of the Urban Nature Reserves rewilding program, run by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust.
Little by little, the seeds fall out of the backpack and we hope they are laying down a new layer of seeds and vegetation.
'The project is called "Walking in the Footsteps of Wolves," where dogs are doing what wolves used to do in the area - spreading seeds. Wolves don't exist in the UK anymore, actually. Neither do bison or grizzly bears, and without them, ecosystems can suffer.
You know, the value of these apex animals goes way down the food chain. The wolves effect the deer. If you have less deer, then the grass will grow better and the wildflowers will grow better, and so on.
Dylan Walker started the program at the nature reserve this spring, and says they'll know next year if it worked. He says it's been a great way to educate and engage with the local community.
It's been a time where they can have a slightly sort of deeper connection with the reserve, deeper understanding of how ecosystems work. So, you know, that's a lot of boxes ticked from my perspective.
A new theory is floating around about how the ancient Egyptians may have built the pyramids over 4000 years ago. A team of engineers and geologists based in France think that the ancient Egyptian builders may have used a sophisticated hydraulic lift device to float heavy stones up the center of a pyramid. They focused their study on the step pyramid in particular.
It stands as the oldest of the seven monumental pyramids of Egypt, and its architecture is revolutionary with many innovations.
Xavier Landreau was the lead author of the study. They believe that water from ancient streams flowed into a system of deep water trenches and tunnels that surrounded the step pyramid and helped power this ancient elevator of sorts.
There is a huge mystery, which is about the weight of the blocks.
So some Egyptologists believe that ramps and ancient hauling devices might have been used instead to move these really heavy rocks. But Xavier said it's hard to accept that as a viable theory for all of the pyramids, especially the larger ones. Experts who've weighed in say there's still more research needed to determine if their theory could be viable, but that's the nature of studying the pyramids, Xavier said. Each possible answer raises multiple new questions.
Pyramids are as fascinating as they are conflicted.
'A 12-year-old boy in Massachusetts got a sweet lesson in overcoming adversity this summer. Dan Doherty was looking for a way to stay busy over his summer break, so he and his mother, Nancy, decided to start a small business.
Our family makes homemade ice cream that everybody seems to love, so I suggested to him, hey, why don't we make some ice cream and sell it?
Nancy says Dan jumped on the idea. She just had one rule about how he used the profits.
He had to donate half of it to a charity of his choice, and he chose his brother's adaptive hockey team, the Boston Bear Cubs.
'Dan ended up raising about $62 for the special needs team, but someone complained about it to the health department, so the family had to shut it down, which confused the 12-year-old.
I don't understand it because there's so many lemonade stands out there and they don't get shut down.
Nancy shared what happened on social media and got a response she never expected.
We have businesses coming forward and events that are donating money to the Bear Cubs.
Nancy says they've now earned about $1,000 for the team, and Dan learned more than just marketing skills.
Realizing that adversity sometimes isn't the worst thing. For every one Debbie Downer, there's a bazillion more people that are there to just lift you up.
Architects are working on 3D printing an entire village in Tanzania in a new, sustainable way. That's next.
Hundreds of children will find a safe haven in East Africa at a place called the Hope village. A team of architects, in collaboration with the charity One Heart, are using 3D printing technology, and locally sourced soil to build a community hall in this new village to help and house young people in need. It's a novel and sustainable method they're calling earth printing.
You know, I think design can impact communities in lots of different ways in the way people live. We're using it in this instance to help, hopefully help and heal and educate. And we're also using it to to innovate at the same time.
Mark Loughnan is the principal and head of design at the Hassall architecture firm behind the Hope Village in Kibaha, Tanzania.
The master plan includes housing, a school, childcare and skills training for vulnerable girls of the region.
He and his colleagues say 3D printing buildings isn't new. Building with materials from the earth, like soil or clay isn't new, of course, but combining the two methods is. They're layering compacted soil in curved columns, so that design ensures natural ventilation and light while minimizing environmental impact. The hope is to see more earth printed villages like this one worldwide, and places that need it most.
'All right, that's all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing with host David Rind - all about Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russian territory.
Five Good Things is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Eryn Mathewson, Emily Williams and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Faiz Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dzula is our technical director. And Steve Lickteig is the executive producer of CNN audio. We got support from Joey Salvia, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to the CNN Heroes team Tom Paige and Katie Hinman. Thanks for listening. Till next time.
