Squeeze Kids acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands on which we podcast the Turrbal and Combermeri people.
Squeeze Kids!
It's your daily news fix.
Fun, free, fresh.
Hello and welcome to Squeeze Kids today.
Your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
I'm Christy Kijerina.
It's Wednesday, September 3rd.
In Squids Kids today, bushfire banksiers bounce back, San Francisco's goosebusters, medieval mayhem in armour and an ocean rowing record.
That's what's making news, kid style.
Hands up if you've ever planted a seed and waited for it to grow.
Imagine doing that on the side of a mountain with hundreds of tiny seedlings.
That's exactly what volunteers have just done on Mount Burrawa in Victoria's Upper Murray.
They planted 800 little banksia plants.
They're native Australian shrubs and trees with spiky leaves and cone-like flowers.
There are more than 170 types of banksia in Australia, and they're really important for birds, bees and other creatures that drink their nectar.
The black summer bushfires five years ago wiped out the banksias that once grew there.
But clever scientists found a closely related banksia nearby, grew new seedlings and now hope that at least 500 will survive to form a strong population.
Tree planting is a waiting game.
You don't see the results straight away.
But one man has shown just how powerful it can be.
Four years ago, also in Victoria, Aussie adventurer and filmmaker Beau Miles planted 1440 trees and shrubs in just 24 hours.
That's one tree every minute for a whole day.
Last week, he returned to see the results.
What was once a bare paddock is now a young forest full of gums, she-oaks, birds and even a wombat.
Beau made a short film about it and I've popped a link in your episode notes.
Since colonisation, Australia has lost up to 50% of its native plants and trees.
The small things we all do walking instead of driving, planting a garden, using solar they all add up to a real difference.
That's why planting and protecting plants is so important.
Every single one helps.
Spin the globe.
Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a new story from wherever it stops.
And today we've landed in San Francisco, California, where it's time for some serious goose busting.
In Foster City, which is part of San Francisco Bay Area.
Hundreds of Canada geese have moved in and are making an epic mess.
Locals reckon the birds produce around 135 kilos of poo every single day.
That is a big slipping hazard, not to mention higher bacteria levels in the local lagoons.
And with up to 400 geese wandering in parks, scaring kids and even chasing dogs, the city is ready to fight back.
So who are they going to call?
Well, by spending more than 600000 on high-tech goose control, like drones shaped as falcons, border collies acting as guard dogs, even lasers and balloons, they hope to keep the birds moving along.
Canada, geese are migratory birds and San Francisco sits on the Pacific Flyway, a giant migratory route stretching from Alaska to South America.
Some geese just stopped migrating and decided city parks were paradise.
One thing's for sure, this goose busting is going to ruffle a few feathers.
Sport time.
Forget netball or footy.
In Queensland, some women are swapping jerseys for jousts.
The medieval combat sport called bowhurt is booming. with a number of all-female teams on the rise.
Never heard of it?
Bohut fighters wear up to 40 kilograms of steel armour and battle it out with blunt weapons like swords, axes and maces.
The goal?
Knock your opponent to the ground.
One fighter described it like walking around in a sauna, but with armour and blades.
Clubs in New South Wales and Victoria are also seeing more women sign up, and Aussie fighters are already eyeing off international tournaments in Europe, where Bohurt is hugely popular.
Supporters say it's tough, tactical and a serious workout, with teamwork just as important as strength.
And who knows, the next time Australia sends a sporting team overseas, it might not be the Matildas or the Wallaroos, but our very own maidens in shining armour.
Biggest, furthest, longest.
Back in the 1980s, a Scottish band called The Proclaimers sung a song about walking 500 miles.
Maybe you've heard it.
Well, three Scottish brothers have just rode 9,000 miles.
That's about 14,000 kilometres.
That's the distance from Lima in Peru, in South America, all the way to Cairns in Queensland in Australia.
And it set a brand new world record.
Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan McLean spent 139 days at sea, rowing unsupported across the Pacific Ocean.
That means no supply boats, no breaks, just their own strength and a self-built carbon fibre boat.
They battled storms, seasickness, broken equipment and even a terrifying man overboard incident.
But they kept going.
The brothers also raised 16 million for clean water projects in Madagascar, aiming to help more than 40000 people to get safe drinking water.
And when they finally reached land on Saturday, they celebrated with bagpipes and flags cheered on by friends, family and their mum.
Now that's going the extra mile, or in their case, 9,000 of them.
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
What is the name of the native Australian plant that volunteers have planted 800 of in Victoria?
Music Well done if you said Banksia.
Question number two.
How many kilos of poop are Canada geese producing every day in Foster City?
Music That would be a whopping 135 kilos every day.
Question number three.
Which three weapons did I mention in the story about Bohurt?
Music Excellent listening if you remembered that it was swords, axes and maces.
Yay!
Shoutouts.
It's Wednesday, September 3.
On this day, way back in 1901, the Australian flag was flown for the very first time in Melbourne.
The design came from a national competition with more than 32,000 entries.
And the five people who won.
They all had similar designs, including a 14-year-old schoolboy from Melbourne and a teenager from Sydney.
It's the flag that we still fly today, with the Union Jack, the Southern Cross and the Commonwealth Star.
It's also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today.
Mason from West Albury, Levi from Fernvale, Aliana from Chesterhill, Grace from Woolooin and Zach from Killanger.
The lettered birthday shoutouts go to Steele from Roeville and Heron from Dunoon.
Classroom shoutouts today go to Class 3W with Mrs Mackie and Mrs Mackenzie and Class 1L with Mrs Tidy and Mrs Williams and 5 from St Philip's Christian College, Waratah in Newcastle.
Class 3-4G with Miss Gardner at Wangaratta West Primary School.
And lastly, but definitely not leastly, Class 5.2 with Mrs Apps at St Rita's College in Clayfields.
Don't forget if you've got a birthday coming up and you want a shout out, or if you're after a classroom shout out, drop us a line at squizkidsatthesquizcomau or fill out the form on our website.
Well, that's all we have time for today.
Thanks for listening to Squiz Kids today.
We'll be back again tomorrow.
In the meantime, though, get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
Thank you.
