Beijing, China - Thousands of student environmentalists from 32 different universities embarked today on a nation-wide “Green Long March” along 10 routes crossing 26 provinces. Reaching people directly, town to town and village to village, the students will conduct environmental education campaigns and walk 2008km to welcome the Green Olympics.
“We are planting the seeds for a Green China,” says Green Long March student leader Ma Chi Zhi. “The Green Long March is inspiring Chinese youth to become the pioneers of environmental change.”
Organized by the Beijing Forestry University and Hong Kong-based NGO FutureGenerations/CHINA, the march is a direct reference to the legendary Long March of China’s 1930s. Established in 2007, The Green Long March runs annually from April to November and is considered to be China’s largest youth conservation awareness movement.
“This year’s Green Long March supports the conservation successes of today and the environmental leaders of tomorrow,” says Frances Fremont-Smith, Executive Director of FutureGenerations/CHINA. “It is developing a national youth corps of conservation leaders committed to advancing environmental protection in their hometowns and in the workplace.”
During the march, students will traverse all of China’s major ecosystems: virgin forests, lush wetlands, wide plains and the arid cities of China’s northwestern deserts. The students will investigate local community successes in conservation, and highlight green businesses that are reducing use of natural resources, lowering waste production and improving their carbon footprint.
“Following in the footprints of the Green Long March volunteers, I believe the concept of ecological protection will be spread far and wide,” says Yu Jishun, Secretary General of the Beijing Forestry University Youth League.
The Green Long March would not be possible without the generous contributions of the following forwardthinking and socially-responsible companies and foundations: Goldman Sachs, Swire Pacific Limited, Suntech,Yahoo! China, Adrian H.C. Fu, ZeShan Foundation, and Starbucks.
The 2008 Green Long March aims to spread the spirit of the Green Olympics throughout the country and to transform nation-wide conservation awareness into long-term practical solutions. The official International Olympic Committee magazine Olympic Review has called the project “part of the green legacy of the Beijing Games.”
For more information:
Joanna Wong, Communications Manager, FutureGenerations/CHINA
Email: jwong.glm@gmail.com
Office: 6533-0451 Mobile: 15810708207