Life at the Green Education Center

For the past two months, we have been working at the Green Education Center: the headquarters of our partner NGO Yunnan EcoNetwork, and a place of environmental learning and discovery for thousands of students and visitors every year.

In the context of our project to encourage socially and environmentally sustainable behaviours in China, we are working to renovate the exhibition rooms of the centre, and create a whole new exhibition tailored to the Chinese public, with the following aims:

• instill a sense of national and global environmental urgency in the visitors of the Green Education Center
• show these visitors, through interactive demonstrations and practical examples, that their individual actions can make a change
• inspire them to think of environmental issues as challenges to overcome, rather than a plight to endure.

When the exhibition is ready, in four weeks from now, we promise to give you a virtual tour. For now, we thought it would be nice to give you a glimpse in pictures of the daily life at the Green Education Center, and perhaps motivate future Slow Motion Projects volunteers to spend a few months here too!

Location and surroundings of the Green Education Center

The centre is located on the shores of Lashihai ("Lashi Lake"), in a quiet and rural neighbourhood a few kilometres away from the bustling city of Lijiang, China's number one tourist destination (seriously. It's not the Great Wall, it's the historic old town of Lijiang), with millions of visitors every year.

The Green Education Center, nestled between the Lashi Lake and the surrounding mountains, offers bucolic sights.

The GEC is conveniently located next to the Lashihai Wetland Reserve Bureau.

The wetland bureau is a precious source of information on the local fauna and flora, and the (often unsustainable) development of tourism in the region.

Other sights are within walking distance, such as the formidable Zhiyun temple, whose grand hall can seat hundreds of lamas.

Between religious and popular customs, between rural tradition and urban modernity, Lashihai truly is a unique place to visit.

Daily life and work at the centre

The GEC's newly constructed "solar house" hosts weekly staff meetings, where progress on current projects is discussed.

Solar power is used for more than electricity: most farms in the region have solar water heaters.

Much of the appeal of GEC for visitors lies in its hands-on demonstrations of sustainable energy production and agricultural practices, such as pesticide-free gardening and biogas production.

Part of our work consists in redesigning the eco-garden, and presenting the future visitors with information about the local species of fruits and vegetables.

Our phone conference room is... Probably not like your phone conference room!

The students staying at the GEC: the future "global leaders" of Asia's grassroots environmental movement

The GEC is constantly hosting students from all over China and beyond, for periods ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. Yongsong Chen, founder and director of Yunnan EcoNetwork and the GEC, shows remarkable patience in teaching them environmental awareness and individual values of sustainability; these complement (and sometimes supplant) the Communist Party's collectivist values that the children are constantly exposed to.

Information workshop in the solar house for students of Beijing's Tsinghua University, one of the top universities in China.

Students also learn project management and leadership skills, to help them become actors in the future of the climate discussions and actions, in China and beyond.

Local schoolchildren are always welcome to the GEC, whether it is to do their homework...

... Or participate in impromptu theatre performances in the evening.

And for the very little ones, thinking globally starts with learning English!

The Slow Motion Projects volunteers at work

For much of the past two months, GEC welcomed other visitors from Europe: the first Slow Motion Projects volunteers! Their help was precious in a variety of tasks.

From sewing curtains...

... To electrical work...

... Or building salt dough models for the food CO2 smart scale. We're never short of things to do!

Have we piqued your interest yet? Perhaps you would like to spend a "useful" vacation in a quiet place far from your everyday concerns, and get immersed in Chinese culture? We're always looking for volunteers! Email us at contact@slowmotionprojects.org.