The Major Oak has finally fallen. Figuratively. The famous tree still technically stands, but has been pronounced dead after a long life of as many as 1,200 years. The massive oak tree was well-known for being central to Robin Hood folklore, but it also stood out with its formidable trunk circumference of 11 meters, or 33 feet. That’s big enough for a large African elephant to hula hoop with.
The huge tree still stands tall, looking majestic with its craggly branches and massive reach, but it’s been in decline for years. This year is the first that it hasn’t put any leaves out, so experts deemed it deceased.
While it was certainly old, its demise was likely quickened by climate change, heat waves, and damage to the surrounding soil from people coming to admire the tree. Admirers may have meant well, but decades of foot traffic compacted the soil around the tree's roots, making it harder for the tree to absorb the water, nutrients, and minerals it needed.
It may not produce lush, green leaves anymore, but fans can still pay homage to The Major Oak. It will remain in its spot to decompose (which could take more than 100 years), and the legacy of the tree lives on in the form of saplings that have been grown from acorns and cuttings.
Why did the various wildlife species cross the road? To test the new heathland bridge!
It may look like a bridge that’s just unfinished, but the dirt and grass butting up against the pavement is very intentional.
This heathland bridge separating two commons is the first of its kind to include a network of natural routes that encourage species to reunite for the first time in over 40 years. Man, we would not remember ANYONE’S names! The bridge is home to mosses and vegetative grounds, as well as sand that could be a habitat to species like sand lizards, adders, foxes, deer, and bugs. Lots of bugs.
The bridge connects the heathland on either side, which the Wildlife Trusts are working to restore, so the aim of the bridge is to let wildlife move from side to side, building up the population and their resilience. But, it wasn’t as simple as leaving the bridge half-paved. Crews had to create the heathland by distributing acidic sand before adding areas of ground taken directly from larger heathland sites.
Chemotherapy works. It also takes a serious toll — on energy, on the immune system, on everyday quality of life. For decades, that trade-off has been treated as unavoidable. A new drug being used to treat ovarian cancer suggests it might not have to be.
The treatment works by attaching a chemotherapy drug to an antibody — a protein the body uses naturally to identify and target specific cells. When the drug enters the body, the antibodies seek out cancer cells specifically, binding to them and leaving healthy tissue alone. Once inside the cancer cell, the antibody breaks down and releases the chemotherapy drug, destroying the cancer from within. The rest of the body barely notices.
For patients like Patricia Hill, the difference has been significant. After multiple rounds of conventional chemotherapy in the 3 years since her ovarian cancer diagnosis, she describes finally feeling well enough to socialize and enjoy daily life again. That shift — from surviving treatment to actually living alongside it — is what researchers have spent decades working toward.
The drug is still being studied, but early results point in two directions that matter: better quality of life during treatment, and the possibility of longer survival afterward. Those two things don't always come together in cancer research. When they do, it tends to mean something genuinely new is happening.
Are you watching the 2026 World Cup?! We hope so, because it’s a big one. The biggest one, actually. It’s the first with three countries co-hosting (Canada, the U.S., and Mexico), and it’s been expanded to 48 teams (from 32).
But the size of the tournament isn’t where the differences end, not by a long shot! This year, the World Cup is also introducing new rules, like a possible red card for players covering their mouths! If you gasped and covered your own mouth, don’t worry. First because you’re probably not playing in the World Cup (yet), but also because this penalty is only given to players who are being confrontational.
Other additions include the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) getting the power to check second yellow cards and corners, a 5-second countdown on goal kicks and throw-ins, and a rule that players being subbed will have just 10 seconds to leave the pitch. No time for dilly dallying, we’ve got 16 more teams to watch this year!
In JoJo and Gran Gran Look for Leaves, JoJo searches for leaves to complete her checklist until she realizes she can’t find a green leaf. Gran Gran suggests a solution. Real-life friends collect leaves that have fallen from the trees. This video is excerpted from BBC’s JoJo & Gran Gran, a children's animated television series following JoJo, an inquisitive and cheerful 4-and-a-half-year-old girl and her loving Gran Gran, who always has something new to teach her.
Take your class deep into the misty mountains with Andy! In this fun mountain gorillas worksheets, you'll:
- Discover fascinating facts about gorillas' nests, thick fur, and family life.
- Learn where mountain gorillas live and how they stay warm.
- Test your memory with quick quiz.
- Draw leaves for gorillas to munch on.
Aw, look at these little critters. Just snip, roll and stick to make a butterfly, dragonfly, or a ladybug. Too easy! You'll need your own popsicles sticks. Here's what you'll do:
- Cut out the bits on the page. Glue the wings to the sticks first! Then roll and stick on the bodies. Make sure to leave a gap at the top of each stick for the head.
- Roll the heads into smaller loops and tape shut. Then curl the antennae (feelers!) around a pencil and glue them on top of the heads.
- Tape the heads at the top of the sticks. Ding ching! Say hello to your bug friends!
Quick sticks! Mum needs to get Bluey and Bingo out the door and to the park to meet Judo. Can they get out before sticky gecko falls off the ceiling? Play the game!
Inspired by Season 2, Episode 12 "Sticky Gecko": Mum’s arranged a playdate for Bluey and Bingo with Judo in the park and is trying to get the kids dressed and ready to leave the house, but they won’t go until they’ve finished their game!
Bluey and Jean Luc meet each other on a camping trip! Color the camping scene. Try collaging your picture with real leaves, petals, and twigs. You can also snip out the red leaves and glue them to the trees.
Inspired by Season 1, Episode 43 "Camping": While on a camping holiday, Bluey makes a new friend called Jean-Luc. Bluey may not understand him, but they find common language playing and hunting for a wild Daddy pig.
In Bats, Masters of the Sky, narrator Suranne Jones explains that bats live in caves where they are safe from predators, like hawks. But when they have to leave the cave, they use strategies like flying all at once and their nimble flying skills to overwhelm and evade predators. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Life in the Air, a documentary about animals that take to the sky.
In Born of the Ice, Yosemite Is a Climber's Mecca, geologist Iain Stewart describes how the mountains in Yosemite were carved out by glaciers over tens of thousands of years, leaving behind boulders and waterfalls — remnants of ancient rivers. El Capitan, rising up from the valley floor, challenges climbers with its towering, vertical rock face. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Earth: The Power of the Planet, a documentary series in which Dr. Iain Stewart discovers how Earth's forces can shape nature, species, and even the climate.
The Major Oak has finally fallen. Figuratively. The famous tree still technically stands, but has been pronounced dead after a long life of as many as 1,200 years. The massive oak tree was well-known for being central to Robin Hood folklore, but it also stood out with its formidable trunk circumference of 11 meters, or 33 feet. That’s big enough for a large African elephant to hula hoop with.
The huge tree still stands tall, looking majestic with its craggly branches and massive reach, but it’s been in decline for years. This year is the first that it hasn’t put any leaves out, so experts deemed it deceased.
While it was certainly old, its demise was likely quickened by climate change, heat waves, and damage to the surrounding soil from people coming to admire the tree. Admirers may have meant well, but decades of foot traffic compacted the soil around the tree's roots, making it harder for the tree to absorb the water, nutrients, and minerals it needed.
It may not produce lush, green leaves anymore, but fans can still pay homage to The Major Oak. It will remain in its spot to decompose (which could take more than 100 years), and the legacy of the tree lives on in the form of saplings that have been grown from acorns and cuttings.
Why did the various wildlife species cross the road? To test the new heathland bridge!
It may look like a bridge that’s just unfinished, but the dirt and grass butting up against the pavement is very intentional.
This heathland bridge separating two commons is the first of its kind to include a network of natural routes that encourage species to reunite for the first time in over 40 years. Man, we would not remember ANYONE’S names! The bridge is home to mosses and vegetative grounds, as well as sand that could be a habitat to species like sand lizards, adders, foxes, deer, and bugs. Lots of bugs.
The bridge connects the heathland on either side, which the Wildlife Trusts are working to restore, so the aim of the bridge is to let wildlife move from side to side, building up the population and their resilience. But, it wasn’t as simple as leaving the bridge half-paved. Crews had to create the heathland by distributing acidic sand before adding areas of ground taken directly from larger heathland sites.
Chemotherapy works. It also takes a serious toll — on energy, on the immune system, on everyday quality of life. For decades, that trade-off has been treated as unavoidable. A new drug being used to treat ovarian cancer suggests it might not have to be.
The treatment works by attaching a chemotherapy drug to an antibody — a protein the body uses naturally to identify and target specific cells. When the drug enters the body, the antibodies seek out cancer cells specifically, binding to them and leaving healthy tissue alone. Once inside the cancer cell, the antibody breaks down and releases the chemotherapy drug, destroying the cancer from within. The rest of the body barely notices.
For patients like Patricia Hill, the difference has been significant. After multiple rounds of conventional chemotherapy in the 3 years since her ovarian cancer diagnosis, she describes finally feeling well enough to socialize and enjoy daily life again. That shift — from surviving treatment to actually living alongside it — is what researchers have spent decades working toward.
The drug is still being studied, but early results point in two directions that matter: better quality of life during treatment, and the possibility of longer survival afterward. Those two things don't always come together in cancer research. When they do, it tends to mean something genuinely new is happening.
Are you watching the 2026 World Cup?! We hope so, because it’s a big one. The biggest one, actually. It’s the first with three countries co-hosting (Canada, the U.S., and Mexico), and it’s been expanded to 48 teams (from 32).
But the size of the tournament isn’t where the differences end, not by a long shot! This year, the World Cup is also introducing new rules, like a possible red card for players covering their mouths! If you gasped and covered your own mouth, don’t worry. First because you’re probably not playing in the World Cup (yet), but also because this penalty is only given to players who are being confrontational.
Other additions include the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) getting the power to check second yellow cards and corners, a 5-second countdown on goal kicks and throw-ins, and a rule that players being subbed will have just 10 seconds to leave the pitch. No time for dilly dallying, we’ve got 16 more teams to watch this year!
In JoJo and Gran Gran Look for Leaves, JoJo searches for leaves to complete her checklist until she realizes she can’t find a green leaf. Gran Gran suggests a solution. Real-life friends collect leaves that have fallen from the trees. This video is excerpted from BBC’s JoJo & Gran Gran, a children's animated television series following JoJo, an inquisitive and cheerful 4-and-a-half-year-old girl and her loving Gran Gran, who always has something new to teach her.
Take your class deep into the misty mountains with Andy! In this fun mountain gorillas worksheets, you'll:
- Discover fascinating facts about gorillas' nests, thick fur, and family life.
- Learn where mountain gorillas live and how they stay warm.
- Test your memory with quick quiz.
- Draw leaves for gorillas to munch on.
Aw, look at these little critters. Just snip, roll and stick to make a butterfly, dragonfly, or a ladybug. Too easy! You'll need your own popsicles sticks. Here's what you'll do:
- Cut out the bits on the page. Glue the wings to the sticks first! Then roll and stick on the bodies. Make sure to leave a gap at the top of each stick for the head.
- Roll the heads into smaller loops and tape shut. Then curl the antennae (feelers!) around a pencil and glue them on top of the heads.
- Tape the heads at the top of the sticks. Ding ching! Say hello to your bug friends!
Quick sticks! Mum needs to get Bluey and Bingo out the door and to the park to meet Judo. Can they get out before sticky gecko falls off the ceiling? Play the game!
Inspired by Season 2, Episode 12 "Sticky Gecko": Mum’s arranged a playdate for Bluey and Bingo with Judo in the park and is trying to get the kids dressed and ready to leave the house, but they won’t go until they’ve finished their game!
Bluey and Jean Luc meet each other on a camping trip! Color the camping scene. Try collaging your picture with real leaves, petals, and twigs. You can also snip out the red leaves and glue them to the trees.
Inspired by Season 1, Episode 43 "Camping": While on a camping holiday, Bluey makes a new friend called Jean-Luc. Bluey may not understand him, but they find common language playing and hunting for a wild Daddy pig.
In Bats, Masters of the Sky, narrator Suranne Jones explains that bats live in caves where they are safe from predators, like hawks. But when they have to leave the cave, they use strategies like flying all at once and their nimble flying skills to overwhelm and evade predators. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Life in the Air, a documentary about animals that take to the sky.
In Born of the Ice, Yosemite Is a Climber's Mecca, geologist Iain Stewart describes how the mountains in Yosemite were carved out by glaciers over tens of thousands of years, leaving behind boulders and waterfalls — remnants of ancient rivers. El Capitan, rising up from the valley floor, challenges climbers with its towering, vertical rock face. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Earth: The Power of the Planet, a documentary series in which Dr. Iain Stewart discovers how Earth's forces can shape nature, species, and even the climate.