Children give a thumbs-up at a flea market held to mark World Environment Day at Shenzhen Domestic Waste Classification Science Education Museum yesterday. Courtesy of the event’s organizer
Shenzhen unveiled the country’s first green book on nature schools yesterday during an online event marking World Environment Day.
This is also the first time the city has adopted AR technology in holding a themed activity to celebrate World Environment Day.
Nature school green book 2022, for the first time, investigates the willingness of nature schools in different parts of the country to conduct educational communication on topics such as low-carbon life and climate change, and discusses nature schools’ role in engaging the public in starting a green lifestyle.
The green book, jointly compiled by the Center for Environmental Education and Communications under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Shenzhen Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, also analyzes development models and class designs of the country’s nature schools and offers suggestions on their construction goals and improvement solutions, according to information released at the event.
In 2014, OCT Wetland established the country’s first nature school, and as of now, the city has set up a total of 22 nature schools.
The event also awarded a batch of green projects, enterprises, schools, educational bases, environmental protection organizations and volunteers for their outstanding contributions to the protection of the city’s ecological environment.
In addition, a mini video competition was launched during the event to call for people around the world to submit videos sharing green development stories in China and countries taking part in the joint construction of the Belt and Road. More information about the video contest is available via the website www.brettc.cn.
Erik Solheim, former United Nations under-secretary-general and former executive director of the U.N. Environment Program, said at the event via video link that Shenzhen is a green city with electric buses, taxis and trucks, and green corridors.
Solheim urged joint efforts to build a better Earth together and make low-carbon living fashionable worldwide on the occasion of World Environment Day. He also encouraged people to send videos with great green ideas.
Last year, Shenzhen’s PM2.5 concentration, a key air pollution indicator, went down to 18 micrograms per cubic meter, the city’s number of parks reached 1,238, with greenways spanning about 2,843 kilometers, and more precious wildlife like leopard cats were frequently spotted in the city.
World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 and is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for environmental protection.