A journey on exploring biodiversity in a city

On August 26^th, 2023, Shanghai Roots and Shoots brought a group including volunteers from Schneider and their friends and family. They went to BioFarm, an organic farm located in Chuansha, Pudong District, Shanghai. The visitors walked into a natural classroom with Shanghai Roots and Shoots, experiencing a journey in search of biodiversity in the city.

After reaching the farm and taking a short break, the volunteers started a tour around the farm with the farm’s workers. Here, they observed meticulously, from herbs to tiny insects, then to the adorable animals on the farm. They saw wriggling caterpillars, caught crickets with their hands, smelled the scent of peppermint, and tried the organic bitter gourd grown on the farm. This gift of nature helped the volunteers to perceive the biodiversity on the farm.

The volunteers enjoyed a delicious lunch, and then separated into two groups, taking part in the studying of “Biodiversity in Cities”. They experienced the harvesting of crops and making paper from seed paper. In the workshop, the YES program director of Shanghai Roots and Shoots, Rebecca Zheng, explained the importance of biological diversity to human society and the role organic farming plays in biodiversity. The knowledge explained in the workshop helped the audience gain a deeper understanding about organic agriculture and biodiversity. Next came the exciting harvest. Though it is hot inside greenhouses, the group’s enthusiasm for the harvest remained high. They gathered a whole bag of cucumbers and sweet peppers.

On the other side, the volunteers are making their own scented seed paper. They put torn, used paper into a mold, squeezed out the water, put in the seeds, and then added another layer of torn paper. After the paper is dried, scented essence oil is dropped onto the paper. The humidity of the paper is the key to the success of a piece of seed paper. For this, the volunteers focused on the task, and all succeeded in making their piece of paper.

This year, Schneider works with Shanghai Roots and Shoots on the task of adopting organic farms on campuses, promoting biodiversity together. Zheng Chen says, “We are delighted to be able to bring volunteers from Schneider to the organic farm and help everyone realize the importance of biodiversity and organic agriculture. This is the first step, and next, we will go on campus tours with the volunteers, helping schools to hold more activities in planting and explore biodiversity on the campus with the students.”

「School Garden Adoption」Organic Garden is an educational project initiated by Shanghai Roots and Shoots. Students are able to build their own farms even on small campuses, and learn ways to plant their crops organically, and, eventually, combine their experiences with actions to bring changes to the environment. Corporations can adopt campus farms and support the students to plant organically, helping adolescents to develop the concept of a healthy and organic lifestyle.

翻译：周思言