On April 24, 2021, Shanghai You Dao Center cooperated with Crane Co. Shanghai Branch to host a Family Day event with the theme of ” Closeness to nature – a visit to friends of humankind “ at the Shanghai Zoo. Volunteer families from Crane and migrant families sponsored by You Dao participated in this activity.
April 22 is the 52nd Earth Day. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection in China, this worldwide environmental protection activity has become common practice here. On the 24th, the Shanghai Zoo was extremely lively. The various Earth Day activities under the theme of “Guarding the Earth – Our Common Home” were unveiled, which gave this parent-child activity a richer and more fulfilling experience.
You Dao further highlighted this theme through its activity planning and emphasized the idea of co-construction of a harmonious relationship between individuals, communities and nature.
At around 9 in the morning, 22 adults and 20 children gathered at the entrance of the zoo. Under the help of their parents, the children completed a creative event of umbrella painting.
Upon completion, children chose the most favourable umbrella among themselves. The rule was to line up the umbrellas, and every child would stand behind their favorite one. In this way, they selected the top three with most children standing (though no one is allowed to stand behind their own umbrella).
The girl in pink won the first place, and she decorated her umbrella with such diversity of nature with the sun, stars, rainbow, etc. Many other children also decorated with animals and plants. This event helped to advocate that plants and animals are incredibly important part of the earth. Therefore, this day, we came to the zoo to be in close proximity with the animals to learn about nature.
It was raining from time to time. Fortunately, the mild drizzle that is unique in April did not affect the visit at all. After a simple lunch, the group was scattered by families to visit various zoo venues. There were detailed information signs about animals everywhere in the zoo.
The children enjoyed their tour attentively. A mother accompanied her two sons to visit all the animals (more than 400 species in total there) until the zoo closed.
People always say that children are the future, but without a good environment and a healthy eco-system, mankind has no future. Due to the excessive pursuit of economic benefits, the earth’s ecology on which we live has been greatly damaged. Frequent extreme weather and geological disasters are nature’s response our excessive demands. We hope that through this Shanghai Zoo’s garden tour, our children will develop an awareness to the environment since young: the earth is not only our home for human beings, but also the common home for all animals and plants. It is the responsibility for all of us to protect and restore the ecology and protect the earth.
Special thanks to
Crane International (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Office,
and all the volunteers for your strong support and participation for giving the children such a beautiful April day!