How does it feel to stand in a mangrove forest off the coast with your eyes closed?

Wang Bangxian, a senior student from Beijing Forestry University, said he felt a lot closer to nature and it was great to hear the sound of nature.

Wang is one of many students who have taken part in the Green Long March campaign, the largest environmental activity for youngsters in China, since it was launched in 2007. The campaign was initiated by Future Generations China and Beijing Forestry University. More than 10,000 university students from 32 regions have participated in it.

The green march has several routes across China with different environmental themes. Participants undertake field trips as well as spreading knowledge about environmental protection to locals.

During his summer vacation, Wang and his colleagues chose the "Gold Coast" route, which covers Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Quanzhou and Xiamen.

Over about 20 days of activity, Wang said he learned a lot and his sense of responsibility had been enhanced throughout the whole campaign.

He said the biggest difficulties they encountered during the trip were language barriers with local people and adapting to local weather conditions.

"Because the 12 of us are all from the northern part of China, we did have some communications problem with local residents when we were trying to convey the message of environmental protection to them. But finally we overcame the difficulty through our well-organized and persistent efforts," Wang said.

When they met unexpected problems such as language barriers, they had to solve them by themselves. This gave them a great opportunity to grow rapidly both physically and mentally, he added.

A lot of activities were conducted in the hot and humid summer there, including a visit to a Coca-Cola branch in Xiamen, an inspection of mangrove forests in Quanzhou and Xiamen and an environmental consultancy in Zhanjiang, Wang said.

A quotation from an executive of the Coca-Cola branch in Xiamen impressed Wang a lot.

"The environmental campaigns won't have an immediate result, but you (university students) will be affected positively and then you are going to be the backbone in the future green campaigns, further influencing more people," the executive said.

"I think the journey publicizing and educating about the environment is endless, but the whole process is absolutely worthwhile," Wang said.

He added the visit to the mangrove forests was another trip worth remembering. Wang said they had held a little ritual when they got there, closing their eyes, taking a deep breath and standing still for a few minutes. This brought them closer to nature and made them cherish the virtue of nature more.

"The Green Long March is a great opportunity for university students to serve society and to improve themselves," said Huang Xin, a teacher from Beijing Forestry University, who also participated in the activity.

"How to find the right subject for social practice in terms of environmental protection is critical for conducting programs of this kind," said Lei Guangchun, president of Future Generations China.

He also pointed out that a fixed and constant education and training base is very important for the sound development of universities' environmental protection societies.

(China Daily December 27, 2010)