Forest camps bring young people closer to nature

Eleven-year-old Jin Yufeng said he had the most unforgettable birthday this year, spending the day with 28 other children from all over China at a forestry education camp in Heilongjiang province.

Yufeng, a student at Zhongshan Road Primary School in Harbin, was surprised by the camp's organizers with a birthday cake at supper time on the big day.

"All four days of the camp were tremendous," said Yufeng. "I have so many happy memories. I learned about nature, made new friends and ate the sweetest birthday cake."

The camp, run by Heilongjiang's provincial leading group office of natural education and the forestry bureau of Harbin's Fangzheng county, is included in a national program aimed at engaging 300 million children and teenagers nationwide in forest education, a vision promoted by an education agency affiliated to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration in 2019.

In the vision, a research and education system will be built by 2025 with the construction of natural education infrastructure and a number of natural education camp bases for teenagers, which will gradually integrate forest research and education activities into primary and middle school education across the country.

The camp attracted around 100 teenagers from Beijing and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Shandong, aiming to integrate forest education with the ecological tourism and forest resources of Fangzheng forestry bureau, the wetland resources of Harbin, and the protection of wild Siberian tigers and leopards, according to the organizers.

It is also expected to promote teenagers' greater awareness of ecological civilization and guide them to love and protect nature.

At the launch ceremony on Aug 18, the camp members and invited guests pledged to protect the natural red pines of Fangzheng Forest. Ten representatives of the group "adopted" a red pine each with 10 public figures that included TV hosts, actors and singers.

"I felt honored when I saw a signboard with my name on it hung on the red pine, which is 137 years old," said Zeng Yixin, a 14-year-old from Panjin, Liaoning province. "I also received an adoption certificate with the tree's photo and I will keep it as a treasure.

"My parents and I often travel to the mountains around Panjin, but I've never visited such a large primitive forest before," he said. "I hope to take my parents to visit Fangzheng and show them my tree."

On Aug 19 and 20, the camp members visited Harbin Wetland Exhibition Hall, the Baiyupao Wetland Park, the Siberian Tiger Park and the Heilongjiang Provincial Botanical Garden in Harbin.

"Heilongjiang is rich in natural resources, especially forest resources," said Wang Jiuwei, deputy director of the provincial leading group office of natural education. "As a province that launched natural education for teenagers much earlier than others, Heilongjiang has established a relatively complete curriculum system and formed a unique teaching model.

"So far, we have established two national-level and 37 provincial-level natural education camp bases for teenagers across the province," he said. "We are striving to establish a total of 100 bases by 2035, which can provide a wider range of forest education activities to teenagers across the country.

"We also hope teenagers in Heilongjiang can have more chances to visit different types of natural resources in other regions," he said. "Natural education has great potential for development in the future as more policies on the conservation of nature are promoted.

"Such natural education activities will help teenagers learn more about green industries, which will need more related talent in the future," he said. "I hope to see more teenagers choose further study in nature as they enter college."