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Shanghai Earth Day held for sustainable world

By Chen Qide (China Daily Shanghai Bureau)
Updated: 2011-04-23 16:12

A teacher from the Shanghai Rainbow Bridge International School is answering questions raised by students on Earth Day which is sponsored by the school at the Shanghai Zoo. [By Chen Qide/chinadaily.com.cn]

SHANGHAI–The city kicked off Shanghai Earth Day at the Shanghai Zoo on Saturday as part of the Earth Day which fell on Friday to keep a sustainable world.

The event themed "Our Sustainable World" was sponsored by the Shanghai Rainbow Bridge International School (RBIS) and the Shanghai Zoo to provide a perfect platform for a global community effort toward environmental awareness, said Rebecca Zipprich, principal of the school.

"It will also encourage the public, companies and governments to join together to promote an eco-conscience world," she said.

More than 2,000 children and their parents from 31 countries participated in the Earth Day environmental education activities such as seed planting and fashion designs with recycled materials. Other activities included stage performances, family games, charity events and tour cultural villages to highlight environmental initiatives.

"These activities aim to educate the community about the human impact on the environment and remind people it is never too late to start making small steps each day to have a positive influence on the future of our environment," said Zipprich.

"Making small steps to better protect our environment is something we all can do, even the smallest of students at our school are learning to bring reusable bags, use less plastic and recycle paper and bottles."

"Those are lessons which will carry into their adult life and help make this a cleaner planet," the principal said.

Her words were echoed by RBIS Science Teacher Heather McIsaac, who said RBIS students participate in eco-projects throughout the year. By working in greenhouses and flower gardens, they learn the importance of taking care of the Earth.

This year they raised enough money to buy 2,000 trees as part of the Roots & Shoots Million Tree Campaign and two teachers planted them in the Keerqin Desert in Inner Mongolia to help prevent desertification caused by overgrazing in the grasslands, McIsaac said.

Amy Kent, one of the two teachers who went to Inner Mongolia to plant trees, said "I was humbled to see that the people living there reused and recycled everything possible. It was a sobering lesson for the volunteers from Shanghai where waste is a way of life."