From charities cleaning up the ocean to rare baby pandas making their public debut, good news is out there – and it’s our duty to share it. Read on for some Sydney-based stories to make you smile.
This restaurant in Surry Hills is now providing three-course meals to people in need, six days a week
The good people from Sydney-born social enterprise Ozharvest have been serving up excellent vegetarian food from their beautiful Crown Street restaurant since February 2022 – operating on a buy one, give more model. In the first two years of opening, kind-hearted customers helped the team of volunteers serve an incredible 74,425 meals to guests in need, and now they’re stepping up their game, opening their doors six days a week. Sydneysiders can now visit for an impeccably-presented three-course meal every Tuesday through Sunday; and by dining here, you’re providing a three-course meal for at least four people in need. Learn more and book your table over here.
Sydney has been listed as one of the most walkable cities in the world
A recent global report by comparison site Compare the Market identified the best cities in the world to live car-free, and Sydney was listed as number eleven on the list – only just missing out on making it to the top ten. If your car isn’t going anywhere, we’ve got good news for you too: ticketless parking tickets could become a thing of the past in NSW.
The main buildings at the Art Gallery of NSW have been given Aboriginal names
Since opening its doors in December 2022, the magnificent new wing of the Art Gallery of New South Wales has welcomed more than two million visitors – with incredible exhibitions from some of the world’s leading artists (including this remarkable exhibition documenting the life and work of Louise Bourgeois). Now, the award-winning space has finally been named – with the centrepiece of the Sydney Modern Project now titled Naala Badu, meaning ‘seeing waters’ in the language of the Gadigal people. The original art gallery building (known for its 19th-century sandstone facade overlooking the Domain parklands) has also received an Aboriginal name, now titled Naala Nura – meaning ‘seeing Country’.
A NSW startup has captured more than 122 tons of marine litter from Sydney Harbour
Admittedly, learning that 122 tons of litter was in our city’s beautiful harbour to start with is concerning in itself. But the fact that a NSW-born startup has developed a groundbreaking method of cleaning up oceans across the world is cause for celebration. Between January 2023 and January 2024, Seabin filtered 9.52 billion litres of water, and collected more than 22 tons of litter from our harbour in the process (bringing their total marine litter haul from Sydney harbour up to 122 tons). With an estimated 130,407 tonnes of plastic set to end up in Australia’s waterways this year, Seabin shouldn’t (and can’t) be responsible for keeping our water plastic-free, but it’s doing incredible work moving the needle (and helping other organisations to do the same). You can learn more about Seabin over here.
Our public transport systems are getting upgraded
Sydney might have been voted one of the most walkable cities in the world, but sometimes, there simply isn’t the time. And if you’ve despaired about the state of our city’s public transport system in the past, this will be music to your ears. Sydney’s transport system is receiving some pretty promising upgrades; work for Sydney Metro is well underway, a huge rail improvement plan is well ahead of schedule, and these Sydney train stations are scoring major upgrades thanks to a huge $800 million project. Plus, work for the cycle track along Oxford Street is well underway.
These adorable baby red pandas have made their public debut at Taronga Zoo
Back in January, we shared the good news about this super-rare baby red panda who was born at Altina Wildlife Park. And now, we’re thrilled to learn that we can see two of the adorable red babies even closer to home, with Taronga Zoo announcing that two twin red panda cubs have joined the Taronga community.
The tiny twins were born to their mother Daiyu in early December, and have only just made their public debut. Named Khyana (which means light or deity in Nepali), and Keisho (meaning promoter of wisdom in Hindi), the infants spend a lot of their days napping, and are reportedly most active at 2pm – so that’s the time to pay Taronga a visit. When our faith in humanity is called into question, animals are the answer.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.