'Forest schools' help nature education branch out

Values

Luo Peng, founder of EcoAction, a nature education school in Beijing, who has a master's in biology from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said her work aims to foster changes in values and mindsets.

She said that in addition to helping children learn about and respect different ways of living - including those of insects, animals and even different groups of people - the most important thing is to let them reflect on the effect humans have on nature.

"It's not enough to give them knowledge; we also need to provide discourse that teaches them moral values, such as how to think about the relationship between nature and humans," she said.

One of EcoAction's courses requires children to find living traces of wild pandas in Liziping Nature Reserve in Shimian county, Sichuan province. The children can search for the animals either via wireless radio (which is connected to GPS necklaces round the animals' necks) or by spotting their feces.

"Through the hands-on classes, we show the children how to protect pandas more easily. For example, some local residents poach rare species or cut down trees to make money, so developing tourism (thereby providing alternative income streams) may be a good way of solving this dilemma," Luo said.

"During the classes, we encourage the children to consider different ways of solving problems. Through this, they can understand that striking a balance between humans and nature is difficult, but important. We hope that one day in the future, when they become decision makers, they will take the environmental and ecological effects of their actions into consideration."

Luo started her company in 2013, and to date, she has received many "precious rewards", such as positive feedback from the students and reading their discussions on social media platforms, which makes her feel her work is valuable. In addition, one of her students chose biological science as a major at the University of Toronto.

Meanwhile, after attending a course in Wild Elephant Valley, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan, eight of Luo's former students made a public appeal to their peers and teachers at an international high school in Qingdao, Shandong province, to call for an end to animal shows in nature parks.

Luo said she hopes her efforts will encourage more young people to pay attention to the environment and ecological health.

"I think my original aim in starting the school will have been achieved if they learn how to respect nature, respect different groups and reflect on roles they can play in protection work. I hope that they can find the ways and wisdom to live harmoniously with nature in the future," she said.