Real, messy hope delivered to your inbox, from Good Good Good.
The best good news stories from May
May was filled with so much good news, it’s easy to overlook some of it!
Today, we’re highlighting some of the most popular stories from the past month — to help make sure you catch all the good news you might have missed.
For the first time in 70 years, a wild jaguar was spotted in the largest park in Argentina
The milestone was the result of decades of hard-fought conservation work, education campaigns, and collaborative rewilding efforts between local organizations, scientists, rangers, and ranchers — the park went from having no jaguars to now 50 total.
‘Off Campus’ star Belmont Cameli donated a kidney to a stranger, saving the lives of 7 people in a ‘transplant chain’
Cameli was tested as a donor after learning his childhood friend needed a transplant, and while he wasn’t a compatible match, he became part of a 14-person transplant chain that saved seven lives.
‘Law & Order: SVU’ star Mariska Hargitay helped pass laws to end rape kit backlogs in all 50 U.S. states
After 16 years of the “End The Backlog” campaign, Hargitay announced that Maine became the final state to have enacted at least one pillar of rape kit reform in “a watershed moment.”
A grassroots initiative is bringing New Zealand’s rare kiwi bird back to the country
Critical ecosystem engineers, before humans arrived in New Zealand, an estimated 12 million kiwi birds roamed the Oceania island country — now, only about 70,000 remain.
A Texas job training program is giving formerly incarcerated people a fresh start as solar installers
In the inaugural 22-week training, called “Vulnerable to Vibrant,” 50 participants left with an $18/hour paycheck and a certification in solar installation.
A new study found that most Americans, including Republicans, believe that saving the environment is ‘worth the cost’
The research followed a 2024 Pew Research poll that found that the public’s trust in scientists was on the rise, with three-quarters of Americans saying they had a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the best interests of the public.
Two men opened the first new library in Gaza, filling it with books found in rubble
Israel has destroyed 90% of Gaza’s schools, all of its universities, numerous archives, museums, and historical sites, and at least 13 libraries — destroying along with it critical works of art, literature, and historical information.
Experts celebrated a record-breaking start to sea turtle nesting season in Florida
The FWC reported 1,008 leatherback nests — up by 4% compared to May 2025. There were also three Kemp’s ridley nests, up by two from this time last year, marking a huge improvement for the world’s smallest and most endangered sea turtle.
South Korea deployed a new ferry that purifies the water while people ride
Ecopeace’s Eco-Bot is an autonomous solar-powered boat that uses artificial intelligence to clean floating pollutants, oil spills, and excesses of green algae.
Wildlife experts reunited 100 lost leopard cubs with their mothers using ‘overnight boxes’
While they’re not considered “endangered” on a global scale, several species of leopards are critically endangered, and across South Asia, leopards at large have grown increasingly vulnerable.
In one week, a Florida community raised enough money to save a cow from slaughter
Charley was hand-raised in a 4-H program to compete in local shows, but when he was too skinny at a weigh-in, his fate shifted until locals stepped in.
Even though Trump called climate change a ‘con job,’ lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are still trying to protect the planet
Trump’s stance on climate change has led to some of the largest deregulatory actions in the nation’s history, but people are still fighting for protections.