Naturalist speaks on environmentalism in China

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 ◆ Naturalist speaks on environmentalism in China

The well-known naturalist Jane Goodall was in China over the weekend inspiring young people to love nature, animals and to protect the environment.

More than 300 members of Roots and Shoots gathered in Beijing to celebrate Roots and Shoots Day recently, according to the China Daily.

The Roots and Shoots youth program was initiated by Goodall in Tanzania in 1991 to involve children and teenagers in hands-on activities that promote care and concern for the environment, animals and communities.

Chinese students exhibited their record of observing animals in the past years. They watched magpies, woodpeckers and squirrels build nests and gather food on the branches. They also found ladybugs and several kinds of unknown caterpillars, their report said.

The Roots and Shoots program currently has over 4,000 groups in 69 countries throughout the world, said Goodall, who was named as a Messenger of Peace by the United Nations this April.

She spends over 300 days a year touring the world giving lectures and raising awareness for environment protection. As one of the most legendary people of the 20th century, Goodall, who was born in the United Kingdom, traveled to Africa in her 20s to study chimpanzees in their isolated forest habitat for long periods of time. She is known as the "Mother of Chimpanzees".