Through Tours and Activities, Volunteers Teach Kids the Importance of Nature

Volunteers have been recruited to pass down their knowledge about local nature in Guangzhou, south-eastern China, as part of a project to support biodiversity conservation. The project hopes to instil a strong desire to actively participate in conservation in entire communities.

“The biggest gain has been meeting a group of like-minded friends, helping young people who want to do something to help nature and perhaps even start a career related to the environment,” explains Xiaoyan, a 26-year-old volunteer in Guanzhou. “[By] serving as a volunteer, I can pass on my knowledge to them and support local organizations to achieve their goals to protect the environment and conserve nature.”

The Establishing a volunteer mechanism to support biodiversity conservation in the Greater Bay Area, China project was established by the Guangzhou Green City Environmental and Cultural Development Center (GZGC) and funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the International Union for Nature Conservation. As part of the project, 700 volunteers were recruited to take children and young people on nature tours in nature reserves, parks, and wetlands around Guangzhou city. Founded in 2012, GZGC has a volunteer network in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, where experiences are shared. Over the last two years, more than 900 participants participated in 30 activities – including removing invasive species, restoring mangroves, conducting bird surveys in urban areas, and raising awareness among tourists on preserving biodiversity along coastal areas.