While athletes from around the world prepared for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, student volunteers from 32 Chinese universities set off on a nation-wide march for the environment.

Now in its third year, the Green Long March crosses ten distinct ecosystems, from the ancient Yellow River basin, to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and into the quake-affected regions of Sichuan. It is considered to be the country’s largest youth conservation movement. ‘I am a part of the programme because we need to spread the message of environmental protection to everyone across China ñ to people in small villages, to people in big cities,’ said 21-year old law student volunteer, Connie Hu.

Connie first got involved with environ-mental work through her community’s cleanup efforts of the Yellow River, one of China’s most polluted waterways. As a youth leader on the Gold Coast route of the March, she also led campaigns and researched conservation success stories, including new developments in vertical greening,’ for natural air conditioning.

‘Many people and businesses don’t even realise they have a duty to protect the environment or they don’t know where to start,’ explains Connie. ‘So the Green Long March volunteers can be models and advocate practical green ideas. We don’t just talk ñ we act.’

Organised by Beijing Forestry University and Future Generations/China, the Green Long March is a direct reference to the legendary Long March ñ the Red Army’s gruelling trek across China in the 1930’s to win the Chinese Revolution.

‘Young people are the vehicle for constructing an ecological civilisation. It is they who will build a greener future for China,’ explains Yu Jishun of the Beijing Forestry University Youth League.

Meanwhile, Connie Hu is optimistic about China’s future. ‘Environmentalism is just a process of problem solving,’ she says. ‘When we suffer from a problem, we gain something. I’m sure that young people really know in their hearts how important the environment is for us.’

Contact: www​.fgchina​.org
and www​.greenlongmarch​.org

Conservation awareness campaigns were organised en route

Photos: © FutureGenerations/China

First published in Positive News Hong Kong