Evergreen's Founder Teaching Chinese Children about Environmental Protection

Lin Yue (L) talks with children. [Women of China/Zhang Ping]

Lin Yue, director of Evergreen (a Beijing-based, nonprofit organization that focuses on sustainable development and education on ecology), spent almost 10 years — between 1991 and 2002 — studying and working in the United States. During her stay overseas, Lin noticed that education in ecology and the environment was mainly aimed at middle school and university/college students. Most preschool and primary school children did not receive such an education. After Lin returned to China, she realized the education provided to Chinese children in ecology was inadequate. As the global environment is getting worse, Lin worries about the future of the world, especially if children are not taught the importance of protecting the environment. In April 2012, Lin founded Evergreen, with the goals of providing better ecological education to Chinese children and improving the public's awareness of environmental protection.

The Niche

Lin graduated from Beijing Normal University, with a bachelor's degree in biology, in 1991. Later that year, she moved to the United States, to study zoology at the University of Miami. During the next 10 years, Lin studied and worked in the US; yet, she never felt like she belonged in the US.

Even though the living conditions were good, Lin did not think the US was "a cozy home;" at least, it was not where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. So, she returned to China in 2002.

Lin has always been concerned about environmental issues, such as pollution and climate change. She has volunteered with several environmental-protection organizations, in China and overseas, throughout the years. Her work experiences in China have convinced her that Chinese, in general, do not understand the importance of participating in public-welfare undertakings, such as environmental protection. Near the end of April 2012, Lin founded her nonprofit organization, Evergreen.

"If we want to change people's attitudes about environmental protection, we must start by teaching our children important concepts and knowledge about ecology," Lin says.
"In ecology, the term 'ecological niche' refers to the right position a certain creature holds in the natural environment," Lin adds. "As small as the ants are, they have their space in nature, and they do not disturb other 'residents' … Although humans are the senior species, we are not the center of our nature.

"Why do we have severe problems with fog and haze pollution today? Why are so many animal and plant species disappearing? Those are the results of human beings' selfishness and greed. Human beings also have their ecological niche. We cannot go beyond borders, set by nature, to invade and/or destroy other species' habitats. Now that we are facing so many environmental problems, we must learn to respect nature, and to build equal, environmentally friendly relationships with animals and plants." Lin says she hopes to pass her ideas on to the general public, especially Chinese children and youth.

Close to Nature

Wu Hongyuan, Lin's son, entered primary school a short time before Lin established Evergreen. Lin was aware of the fact that her son, like most Chinese pupils, did not have much time to play outdoors and get close to nature.

"The children have their daily courses, basically in classrooms. If they are not provided with opportunities to go outdoors, how can they learn about their natural environment?" Lin asks.
To ensure that children live a "green childhood," all of Evergreen's activities are held outdoors. "We cannot force the children to care for plants and animals. That's not the right way to educate them. I think we should first help them come to nature, and learn about nature, by themselves. When they actually touch various creatures in nature, they will learn to cherish them and take care of them. It is like raising a pet; if a child gets along very well with his/her pet every day, he/she will love that kind of animal, and never harm the animal," says Lin.

Ahead of International Children's Day (June 1) in 2012, Evergreen set up a log cabin in the China National Children's Center in Beijing. Lin and Evergreen's teachers and volunteers designed several outdoor ecological-education courses, including storytelling, games and art performances, to help the children get close to nature.

"Most of the participants were preschool children and primary school students, so it was very important to first get the children to feel interested in nature … We did our best to attract the children to play in nature, so they wouldn't stay at home, playing with an iPad and other electronic devices all day long," Lin says.

Little Bees Searching for Flowers was one of the games used by Evergreen's teachers. During the game, a teacher put petals from different flowers into paper cups (one type of flower per cup), and then pricked holes through on the cups' covers. The children then smelled the petals through the holes and then headed into the garden to search for the flowers.

Lin also used the "backward-induction" method to teach children the importance of environmental protection. "Once, after we finished a picnic, a teacher asked the children to weigh their leftovers. The children then realized if they had used more environmentally friendly bags and packages, they would have left less trash. We help children find reasons for all of our problems today, and (we) help them think about solutions and make their choices," says Lin.
 
Development

Developing teaching materials and approaches that are easy for the children to accept is an important aspect of ecological education. Lin can remember all of the difficulties she and her volunteers encountered during Evergreen's first activity.

"When we told the children's parents our log cabin activity was free, we noticed that many of the parents did not trust us. Only a few parents took their children to participate in our games," Lin recalls.

Evergreen has recruited several teachers, who have educational backgrounds in pedagogy, psychology or zoology, in the past year. Lin and the teachers have put a lot of effort into exploring methods of teaching children about ecology and environmental protection. For example, they have designed promotional boards, to be displayed around the log cabin in the China National Children's Center.

"Under poplar trees, in the garden, we have showed children how to play with leaves' roots. We have also introduced the origin of mopan persimmon (the shape of which resembles a millstone) under the persimmon trees, and we have designed games for parents to play with their children," says Lin.

During the past two years, Lin has accumulated rich experiences in providing ecological education to children. Evergreen has attracted many Chinese university students to volunteer as teachers. The university students have offered various ideas about how to get children close to nature. Many parents have also been volunteering; they have been helping to care for the children during Evergreen's activities.

"By taking the children outdoors and helping them explore nature, we hope the children will learn, step by step, about the ecological system in which they are living. They will develop emotional bonds with their homeland, and they will develop an interest in researching environmental problems. In fact, many of the children who have participated in our activities have taken roles in promoting environmental protection in their schools," says Lin.

She hopes the log cabin's activity will be included in primary schools' after-school programs, and that more log cabins will be established in facilities like the China National Children's Center and gardens in residential communities to help local children get close to "small nature" near their homes.

Lin also says she hopes a series of ecological-education courses will be introduced to children in kindergartens and primary schools throughout China. "If we work effectively in this way, ecological education will no longer be the concern only of public-welfare organizations on environmental protection, as it will have the attention of people from all walks of life," Lin concludes.

(Source: Women of China English Monthly June 2014 Issue)