xi's moments
Home | Society

Teacher promotes importance of exposure to nature

By Liu Mingtai and Shi Yue | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-05-17 16:28

File photo of Li Rongfu. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

How many kinds of plants could you recognize when you were in middle school?

"I know more than 30 types of plants and some common herbs," said Liu Yan, a seventh-grade student in Jilin province, adding that she has her biology teacher, Li Rongfu, to thank for her knowledge.

Born at the foot of Changbai Mountain, 54-year-old Li grew up in an environment with rich vegetation and is now an expert in botany.

"Today, students live in built-up areas, and due to a lack of exposure to nature, they know little about it," he said.

He said he likes to see students have more contact with nature and takes time to pass on knowledge, even when it is not part of their curriculum.

Li spent more than 600,000 yuan ($87,000) building a 240-hectare botanical garden in Malugou village last year. Students can visit for free and, like Liu, learn information what they won't find in a textbook.

The teacher also built a smaller botanical garden at his school in 2010, which had more than 100 kinds of herbs, with labels displaying their names and functions. However, the garden later made way for a new school building.

"Students in cities are surrounded by reinforced concrete buildings. I believe it's my duty to help free them by allowing them to spend time in natural surroundings," Li said.

1 2 3 4 5 6 Next   >>|
Global Edition
BACK TO THE TOP
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349