【推荐2】Four best volunteer programs in Australia

When it comes to the tops of the top, the following programs are among the best volunteer programs in Australia.

Pacific Discovery

This 4-week program will offer you wonderful chances to combine volunteerism with surfing, hiking and exploring Australia’s cities. Volunteers also have the chance to combine their volunteer experience with connected programs in New Zealand and Fiji for a two-month summer experience.

Where? Blue Mountains, Brisbane, Cairns, Crescent Head, Fraser Island, Noosa, Queensland

When? 4 weeks, summer

Causes? Adventure Travel

Connect-123

Connect-123 offers volunteer activities to students, graduates, and professionals. There are over 50 fields and causes that you can choose from in your program, and you will receive full organizational support from the time of the planning process through to the post-travel experience and return home.

Where? Sydney

When?2-4 weeks, year-round

Causes? Social Work

IVHQ

IVHQ in Australia includes programs for couples and families. The programs are varied and known for being affordable and safe with full-service program support. What’s more, the marine conservation (海洋保护) efforts include work on the Great Barrier Reef, affording volunteers a valuable chance to work on an endangered ecosystem.

Where? Cairns, Great Barrier Reef

When? 2-3 weeks, summer; 2-4 weeks, winter

Causes? Marine Conservation

Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers

This program is focused on wildlife protection and care in Australia. Volunteers can enjoy a wide choice of activities such as collecting leaves for koala bears, cleaning beaches, and using GPS to track wildlife.

Where? Brisbane, Cairns, Geelong, Great Barrier Reef

When?1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, year-round

Causes? Environment, Marine Conservation

【推荐2】A team of Australian and Japanese scientists are using the bacteria-killing (杀菌的) characteristics of the wings of insects, such as cicadas (蝉) and dragonflies, to create lab-made material that can kill up to 70 percent of bacteria. Insect wings have sharp points which destroy bacteria on contact. The new technology has a major influence on food storage because so much is wasted when bacterial growth goes into food. The new bacteria-killing food packaging will improve shelf life and reduce waste.

Professor Elena Ivanova from RMIT University’s School of Science said the team had successfully applied a natural fact to plastic. “We knew the wings of cicadas and dragonflies were highly-effective bacteria killers and could help inspire a solution, but replicating nature is always a challenge,”Professor Ivanova said. The breakthrough was a big step towards a non-chemical, antibacterial packaging solution for food manufacturing, she added.

Professor Ivanova and her colleagues first discovered that insect wings were natural-born bacteria killers a decade ago. The team is now working on improving the technology to find the best way to mass produce the bacteria-killing packaging. But the possible applications of the technology do not stop with packaging. In an earlier 2020 review published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, the researchers detailed how possible uses might one day even include defeating drug-resistant bacteria.

Professor Ivanova said that at the time finding non-chemical ways of killing bacteria was very important, with more than 700,000 people dying each year due to drug-resistant bacterial infection. Bacterial resistance to some medicine is one of the greatest threats to global health and regular treatment of infection is becoming increasingly difficult,” Professor Ivanova said. “When we look to nature for ideas, we find insects have developed highly-effective bacteria-killing systems. If we can understand exactly how insect-inspired patterns kill bacteria, we can engineer exactly these shapes to improve their effectiveness against infections.”

【推荐3】While established by Woodrow Wilson as a holiday in the United States in 1911, the practice of recognizing mothers on a specific day or time of year has spread to more than 40 countries. Here's a look at the various traditions.

France

Mother's Day in France only started in the 1950s. After World War I, it was celebrated on the last Sunday in May, unless it conflicted with the Pentecost（五旬节）. If it did, mothers were celebrated on the first Sunday of June. Regardless of the day, a traditional gif is a flower-shaped cake.

Japan

Following WWI, Mother's Day in Japan gained some popularity, and it is now celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Gifts include red or pink conations（康乃馨） as they symbolize sweetness and purity. Children will often draw pictures of their mothers and present them to mom in addition to preparing dishes that their mothers have taught them.

Sweden

Celebrated on the last Sunday in May, the day isn't all that different from the U. S. version. There's breakfast in bed and homemade cards and the like. One difference is that the Swedish Red Cross collects money by selling red plastic flowers. The money from the flowers goes to mothers and children in need.

Thailand

While all mothers are recognized during Mother's Day in Thailand, the holiday is largely centered on Sirikit, the queen mother of Thailand. Mother's Day is celebrated on her birthday, August 12, and public places and households are decorated with lights and pictures of Sirikit. Flowers like jasmine are popular gifts.