ABC Listen.
Hi there and welcome to Newstime.
My name's Isaac and Emily's handed me the Newstime microphone for a couple of weeks.
Hello Isaac.
Hi Isaac.
And welcome to Newstime listener legend Hamish.
Hi, my name is Hamish and I live in the Noongar Bodger land, Perth.
Great to have you aboard, Hamish.
And it's not just Litter Legends on today's Newstime.
You'll also meet some Litter Legends who are working hard to make their community a cleaner place.
We'll visit an airport that's hired a crew of robots to do some heavy lifting.
And in our wow of the week, we'll dig up a sensory scoop about seeds.
Okie dokie, shall we unearth some stories?
Let's hear the news.
Story number five.
In regional South Australia, there's a three-year-old named Ayla who loves to play at a local park.
Ayla lives with cerebral palsy, which is a physical disability that affects her movement and how she's able to get around.
So Ayla really benefits from playgrounds that are accessible.
Do you know what accessible means?
Accessible could be a long word of access.
Accessible, um means that you use something like a ramp or a wheelchair, um whatever helps your disability um, so you can do the same thing as everyone else.
You got it.
Places that are accessible can be used by all people, whether they live with a disability or not.
Equal.
Yep.
Ayla uses a walker to get around.
It's got four wheels, a basket on the front, and she's nicknamed it Goldie after its shiny gold colour.
As you can imagine, navigating a playground with a walker isn't always straightforward.
For example, if she was trying to climb up a big ladder at the park, if there was like stairs to get up somewhere, like to go on the slide, it would be a little bit hard.
Ayla's passion for play has caused her mum to ask people to look at the world around them and think about what spaces and places might not be accessible for people living with a disability.
How about you?
What do you have at your school that's accessible?
We have a disability bathroom and we don't have ramps but we do mostly have flat surfaces.
Ayla is full of positive vibes and energy and doesn't let her disability slow her down.
It's good for us all to think about how we might change things up in our surroundings so everyone can participate.
Stairs into ramps.
Great stuff.
Story number four.
Every Friday, a group of sisters wake up early, pop on fluorescent vests, grab a big bag and wander down the side of Western Australia's Albany Highway.
Through rain, hail and shine, they've been making their way down the 43km stretch of road to clean up litter because they like helping the environment so other people can live.
So they can take care of our land and make it all clean so it doesn't turn into a rubbish pile.
Yeah, we all know that litter is no good.
It can damage the environment, endanger wildlife and can end up in our waterways.
You don't want to litter, because then the ocean would be a rubbish ocean and then you'd be swimming in rubbish.
The sisters Rhonda and Deborah were saddened to see so much rubbish along the side of their local highway.
Everything from takeaway containers to car parts.
They asked a few government departments to do something to fix the litter problem, but they didn't.
So the sisters thought they would clean it up themselves.
A bit strange and a bit fun.
Why would you do that?
Because they're trying to take care of our land.
It's been nearly a year since the sisters started their Friday litter finding frenzy.
And in that time, they filled nearly 800 bags of rubbish.
And that doesn't include the big items that don't fit in the bags, like rubber tyres.
The sisters, who call themselves the Just Binnit Crew, made it to the end of the stretch of highway and celebrated with a treat from their local bakery.
They probably got a cheese and bacon roll, a croissant filled with chocolate and apple squirrel.
They all got a vanilla slice.
Yum!
And the bakery owners, who were so thankful for the sisters' effort.
They gave them the treats for free.
Put your arms in the bin so we can take care of our world and make it all clean.
So true.
And, of course, if you want to head out and clean up your community, make sure you do it with a grown up, wear gloves and keep well away from the roads.
Story number three.
Over in Japan, Tokyo's Haneda Airport is a very busy place.
There are passengers lining up to board planes queuing for takeoff and a crew of new workers on the tarmac.
There's a lot. humanoid robots to be precise.
I didn't think it looked like a robot, I thought it looked like a person dressed up as a robot.
Yeah, humanoid robots are designed to look and move like humans do, and in some cases they can be programmed to do jobs of humans.
Can you guess what these robots might be doing on the airport tarmac?
They're making a plane.
I think they've got some stuff for the plane.
These robots are baggage handlers.
That means they move travellers' luggage from the airport onto the planes.
So that it can lift it up to...
Well, humans have worked as baggage handlers for a very long time.
You see, Japan has an ageing population, which means there are more older people than younger people.
As many older workers retire, it means there's a worker shortage.
As more and more tourists visit Japan, it's a helpful time for robots to do some of the heavy lifting.
I think that's kind of bad.
They're getting old, but kind of good they have robots to help, because sometimes robots are very fast and their brains have lots of technology.
I think they would be a good help.
The airport has said they want to employ robots to do other jobs like cleaning aircraft cabins.
But some jobs like safety management will remain the responsibility of human workers.
And the robots aren't perfect because they've only got enough power to work for two to three hours before they need to be recharged.
It makes you wonder, what other jobs could robots do?
Help.
Old people across the road.
Robots can help pick up rubbish on the road, like we were talking about before.
It could make it quicker and faster to clean up our community.
I don't want robots to play 30.
Because they're metal.
So if you try to tackle them you would get injured them first time.
You touch them and don't want a robot to be your teacher.
They'll make it way too hard, way too hard, but they'll use robotics to mark your work.
Get it robotics.
Yeah, that's a bad one.
Story number two what do you know about the sport of golf?
You have a little ball and you swing it and you try to get it in the hole.
Golf is when you have a thing where you can knock the ball into a hole, and I play golf in New Zealand and it's fun.
Golf is a super popular sport around the world, especially among grown-ups.
The aim of the game is to use different clubs to hit a white ball into a series of holes on a golf course in as few strokes as possible.
On Queensland's Sunshine Coast there's a keen golf player named Albie, and he's been invited to play a golf championship in Canada.
There's something special about Albie.
Can you guess what it might be?
He's a good golfer.
He's a really good golfer that he won against his family every time.
Is he young?
Yep, Albie's just six years old.
That is unbelievable.
Even though Albie's still quite young, he's been obsessed with golf since he was in nappies.
Even before he could walk, Albie would carry a plastic container filled with golf balls.
He would even take them to daycare and sleep next to them.
Why is he sleeping with golf balls?
Because he loves golf balls.
Exactly.
LB had his first golf lesson when he was just three, but his parents say he was naturally talented at the sport, knowing exactly what to do.
He looks like he's a really good golfer and He can do lots of hole in ones.
That looks like a lot of awards.
He must be really, really good and practice a lot and a lot.
Yeah, LB trains nearly every day and has won some local tournaments.
Now he's been invited to the US Kids Golf Canadian Invitational, a tournament designed to help kids grow in their talent.
But the trip won't be cheap.
It's going to cost his family about $15,000 to get to Canada and back.
That's so expensive.
Albie's parents want him to have the experience and have started fundraising to get him there.
Go well, Albie.
We hope you have a tea-rific time.
Alright, we've reached the final hole of our countdown, which we call our... Wow of the Week.
This story made me go wow because some of the stuff was really interesting.
There's nothing quite like laying in bed at night and hearing rainfall on your roof.
I love listening to the sound of rain because I've got a nightlight that has a rain noise on it.
I don't like listening to rain because it can loud and stop you from sleeping and it's very irritating.
Sorry to rain on your parade.
It turns out that it's not only humans who hear and respond to the sound of rain.
Scientists have discovered that rice seeds that have been buried in soil may respond to the sound of raindrops too, and that sound causes them to sprout quite quickly.
This isn't the first time that plants have been discovered hearing or sensing vibrations in their environment.
Scientists have previously found plants responding to the sound of caterpillars chewing and bees buzzing their wings.
But this is the first time that hearing has been seen in seeds and seedlings.
What in the world?
I know they drink it, but I never know they hear it.
While the sound of rain falling on your roof can be relaxing or irritating, as some of you shared for plants, raindrops are noisy.
Scientists say that the drops make a plonk sound.
And for seeds, it's as noisy as being a few metres away from a plane engine.
Yikes!
When they hear a big clunk on the ground, they want to see it.
They grow and then the plant gets bigger.
There's still plenty to discover about how seeds listen, but in case there's any seeds enjoying today's news time, grow well.
Alright, we know plants are careful listeners, but are you?
Let's find out in today's quiz.
Question 1
What nickname has Ayla given her walking frame?
Goldie.
Question two.
What bakery treat did the sisters enjoy after their litter collecting?
Vanilla Slice.
Question three.
What country has introduced humanoid robot baggage handlers?
Japan.
Question four.
What did Albie sleep next to each night as a two-year-old?
A container of golf balls.
And question five.
What noise does a falling raindrop sound like to a seed?
Flonk.
Well, that's the end of News Time.
Thanks for having me.
And don't forget to send through a message if you'd like to be a listener legend.
Thank you.
Thanks, Isaac.
No worries.
Bye.
I wonder if one of those robots will come and help me clean up my room.
If you love news time, make sure you tell your grown-up's suppressed favourite or follow, so you never miss an episode.
