Source: Beijing Youth Daily
Obsidian Cliffs in Yellowstone National Park
The Grand Glacier National Park dismantles dams to protect salmon habitat
A plane to Greenland National Park
◎ Wu Bingcong
China's first five national parks have been officially announced! On October 12, at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, China announced the formal establishment of the first batch of national parks such as Sanjiangyuan, giant panda, Northeast Tiger and Leopard, Hainan Tropical Rainforest and Wuyishan, covering a total of 10 provinces and covering an area of 230,000 square kilometers. How much we expect from a national park, how stunning the landscape is.
The concept of "national parks" was first proposed by the American artist George Catlin, who during his travels expressed deep concern about the impact of the development of the American West on Indian civilization, wildlife and wilderness, until 1872, when the United States Congress approved the establishment of the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park.
Since its development, countries around the world have successively established their own national park systems. Combining natural and cultural landscapes, the national park has always been a paradise for countless travel enthusiasts. In order to build the national park brand, countries make full use of multimedia integration technology to show their magic on their respective official websites to provide one-stop information services for tourists. At the same time, in order to better maintain the development of biodiversity, it is also based on public welfare to do science popularization and attract more volunteers to devote themselves to the protection and development of national parks.
Building the National Park Brand: The official website has become the most comprehensive information distribution center
The United States is the birthplace of the concept of "national parks", according to the latest information on Wikipedia, the United States currently has 63 national parks, including the oldest Yellowstone National Park. If you want to learn about the national parks of the U.S. states, you can find a wealth of information from the national park service's official website. The drop-down search block helps visitors search by state, citing Alabama, which has nine national parks that welcome about 1.27 million visitors and generate $78.2 million in economic revenue. The official website provides a detailed description of the basic information, locations, and visiting calendars of all national parks in the United States.
In addition, the seasonal introduction guide sticker "Autumn Palette" ranked first on the first screen, illustrating the beautiful scenery in the park this season, and "Hispanic Heritage Month" introduced the history and contributions of Hispanic and Hispanic Americans in the national park land. These introductory information with the changes of festivals and seasons can help visitors to quickly and easily understand the rich historical and cultural connotations of the national park.
The National Park Travel Information Network, established by Japan's Ministry of the Environment, introduces 34 national parks in Japan under the slogan "Experience local stories: Exploring the beauty of humanities and landscapes in national parks." The interactive map divides the territory of Japan into 10 major blocks, including the Kyushu region, the Hokkaido region, the Tohoku region, and the Okinawa area, and visitors can mark all the national parks in the area with a single tap on the map. At the same time, the detailed graphic information on the side provides convenience for tourists who want to deeply understand the interior and itinerary of the national park.
Taking the Hokkaido region as an example, the six marks on the map represent six national parks, and by clicking on "Daisetsuzan National Park" no. 5 in the central region, you can quickly understand its basic information and plan the tour route on the detailed page after the jump. Born in 1934, this historic national park is about a 3.5-hour drive from the administrative center of Sapporo and is beloved by tourists for its majestic mountains and tranquil mountain scenery. Because the park is surrounded by mountains and has an average altitude of more than 2,000 meters, it has also been given two romantic nicknames - "The Roof of Hokkaido" and "Paradise of the Gods".
A similar national park website exists in the UK, and forms of multimedia fusion are fully utilized in the website. After opening the web page, the high-definition landscape GIF that occupies the entire screen, together with interactive maps, promotional videos and graphic introductions, makes the whole page very vivid. The concept of "more outdoors" leads tourists to "discover more" in the webpage, eye-catching landscape photos, detailed background information, and grounded itinerary planning to "plant grass" for the people, attracting people to embark on a national park exploration trip that is "healthier, more creative, more in contact with the natural world and each other".
It can be seen that building a website to introduce national parks has become the choice of many countries, and it has become a trend and trend to publicize national parks through websites to summarize the ecological landscape and historical and cultural materials of the parks, while releasing news, providing play information and other services to the audience.
Rooted in history and culture: Explore the traces of ancient human life
Many people take physical challenges and exploration of nature as the main goal of experiencing national parks, but leading tourists to understand the historical and cultural stories in the park has also become a hot spot promoted by countries in recent years.
As the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park in the United States was founded in 1872 and has a rich human and ecological story. The official website of Yellowstone National Park provides a clear introduction to the local historical background and important landmarks of cultural tourism. According to research, humans have spent more than 11,000 years in the Yellowstone region. Before and after the arrival of European Americans, many tribes used the land as their home, hunting ground, and transportation route, and so far 27 tribes have left their mark on Yellowstone, of which The Tukudika is the region's most famous Native American group.
Yellowstone's location at the intersection of Great Plains, Great Basin and Highland Indian cultures means that the land, resources and tribal traditions are inextricably linked. For thousands of years before Yellowstone became a national park, people hunted, fished, collected plants, mined obsidian, and used hot spring water for religious and medicinal purposes. The oral history of the Aboriginal tribes records that from 1400 to 1700 AD, the ancestors of some Aboriginal tribes walked along the path in the park, the Crow tribe occupied the area east of the park, the Umatilla tribe dominated the north, and the Shoshone, Bannock and other tribes of the western plateau would cross the park every year to hunt on the eastern plains, and the traces of their common life became a valuable treasure in the park today.
Obsidian Cliffs have left traces of ancient ore mining more than 11,000 years ago – in a site on the shores of Yellowstone Lake, archaeologists have found the earliest and most complete archaeological sediments in the park, and found clues to human hunting and life. Although the ruins and artifacts are not exquisite or even unremarkable, they are still very enjoyable for those who are interested.
Visitors to Huangshi not only see archaeological sites and artifacts related to aborigines, but also some historic districts, historical buildings and cultural landscapes that highlight the intrinsic value of the entire park. To date, 895 buildings, trails, roads, bridges, utilities and tombstones have been recognized as culturally significant. However, there are many more historical relics that have not been thoroughly evaluated, and the beautiful scenery and deep historical and cultural heritage of this land are waiting to open their arms to more tourists.
The tropical country of Malaysia is divided into east and west by the sea, and the caves in the National Park of Merinya in the eastern Sarawak State have left the imprint of ancient life, and this site is named "Nya Cave". The cave has a large interior space, with a construction area of nearly 10 hectares, and it is a place used by humans about 40,000 years ago. Initially, people used it only intermittently when moving foraging, until about 40,000 years ago, when it became the main storage place for the remains of the deceased. Tom Harrison, the curator of the Sarawak Museum, has been working on archaeological excavations in a wet and rainy park since 1954, culminating in the discovery of human skulls in a deep ditch called the Hell Trench – the earliest evidence of human settlement in Borneo.
Nia National Park is remotely located 110 km southwest of Miri. There is a visitor center to provide accommodation for tourists, and the scenic area is paved with slatted walking trails for tourists to walk. However, there are no lights in the cave, and the slatted walking path is quite slippery due to the cave's long-term dripping water and bat droppings. Park tip, prepare a wide-brimmed hat can play a real role at this time, flashlights and comfortable walking shoes are a must-have item to visit.
Continuing the development of biodiversity: ecological protection and energy conservation and waste reduction are grasped at the same time
National parks have a diverse landscape ecology, and seashores, mountains, rivers, deserts and rich historical and cultural sites need to be carefully protected. While opening up the source, countries are reducing expenditure, and on the basis of promoting species diversity and ecological sustainability, they emphasize the governance of garbage recycling.
The U.S. National Park Service and the National Park Foundation (NPF) have teamed up to help national parks achieve sustainable development by recycling waste while trying to reduce waste. According to the data, the National Park Service processes nearly 70 million pounds of garbage each year — enough to fill nearly 600 dump trucks. Plastic, food waste to discarded clothes, the garbage that visitors bring into the national park pollutes the most pristine wilderness and wildlife. NPF, in partnership with related companies, is funding waste reduction programs in Three National Parks: Yosemite, Grand Teton and Denali to reduce pollution in recycling bins by promoting new recycling and composting infrastructure. Since the campaign began in 2015, the amount of garbage sent to landfills has been reduced by 16 million pounds, and the reasonable recycling of tourist garbage has become possible.
Supporting research into critical ecosystems and reintroducing animals into national parks have also become a focus of work by U.S. scientists. Since 2014, the NPF has supported plans to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone, providing funding to support scientists in monitoring wolves and studying how wolves fit into their new homes. In the Grand Glacier National Park, where NPF is dedicated to habitat as well as species research, scientists have been preparing for the first return of endemic bison to the region in 150 years.
Habitat restoration and conservation also contributes to ecosystem reconstruction within national parks. The NPF invested more than $4 million to support the dismantling of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams in Glacier National Park — the largest dam demolition project in U.S. history, allowing more than 70 miles of salmon spawning and rearing habitat to be restored more than 100 years later.
On the official website of the national parks set up by the Singapore government, the protection and restoration of the coastline is a future focus. National Development Minister and Minister of Social Services Integration, Mr Desmond Lee, announced in September that the National Parks Board (NParks) would implement more nature-based solutions to build resilience on Singapore's coast. Extending the coastline's protected area, complemented by a mangrove restoration project, embodies NParks' vision of a "city of nature."
Protecting national parks is everyone's responsibility: there's always a volunteer service for you
With the maturity of the national park system and the rise of public attention, national parks in various countries have begun to plan more abundant activities to interact with the people, while doing science popularization, they will focus on public welfare, and volunteer services have been carried out with great success.
Britain's national parks are launching a campaign called See the Wild, which recruits micro-volunteers to participate in the largest citizen science project ever undertaken by the national parks. There is no barrier to entry, and with a smartphone, they can quickly and freely understand the natural world around them, while doing their part to protect it. The official website of the national park gives a concise and clear introduction to how volunteers can participate in the project: the first step is to download the official application to the mobile phone according to the link on the page, even if the network signal in the park is not good, do not worry, because the application also supports non-network use. Step 2 is poetically named "Going Out" – the organizers call on the public to walk from their doorstep to nature and understand the natural environment around them. When you reach the national park, it's a great place to be part of the group. The third step is to take photos of any plants, animals, or insects that you find interesting, and you can also record sounds. The system prompts that it is best to get close enough to take a good photo, but be careful not to disturb the subject you are shooting. Finally, when you upload the shooting data to the app, the system automatically recognizes the content of the data – if the target you are shooting is judged to be a rare class, the data will be loaded into the database, which makes it easy for people to learn and scientists to protect rare species.
At the same time, this public welfare activity also takes care of the children who want to participate in it very humanely. "For young nature observers, we recommend the Seek app designed for children under the age of 14. With it, you can synchronize your observations with our projects. To learn more about this, watch the video below to learn about Seek. "The step-by-step tips and introductions on the website allow people to get started quickly.
Volunteering in national parks in the United States is quite popular, and the National Park Service says, "Throughout the history of national parks, volunteers have continued a tradition of pride." "From the birth of Yellowstone in 1872 to the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, volunteers have played a vital role in the development of the national park system throughout history. Since the passage of the Park Volunteer Act in 1969, the long-standing, informal volunteer system has finally developed into a formal relationship. Every year, thousands of park volunteers are happy to donate their time and skills to help protect the national park's resources.
The national park welcomes volunteers of all talents, and if you are under the age of 18, you can also participate in volunteering with the permission of your guardian. Employees, partners, and volunteers can all get information through the reference manual called DO-7 on the official website, which contains a total of 10 chapters that provide a complete introduction to the background of volunteering, management procedures, recruitment, onboarding, reimbursement, supervision and review, and more.
So who can volunteer in a national park? They are individuals or groups that do not receive any financial compensation from the national park, and interested people can check the volunteer recruitment information through the official portal of the federal land administration, register online, and sign a volunteer agreement after passing the selection.
There are many types of volunteers, including employees of cooperative associations, cooperative organizations, family members of national park employees, foreign citizens, etc., and people who are recruited are not judged by race, belief, age, gender, nationality, disability, etc., but who have any criminal record will not be admitted.
There are many forms of volunteering, as long as you have the heart to participate, there is always a suitable one for you. Micro volunteers, one-time volunteers and short-term volunteers divided by working hours do not need long-term scheduled services, but only need to invest scattered time to work, such as remote assistance in handling paperwork, participating in the preparation of an event, etc. In addition, according to the work content, it can also be divided into hands-on volunteer service and skill volunteer service, the former including garbage collection, site maintenance, etc., and the latter may be medical services, diving, paleontological research and other professional work.
National Park Tour: The Double Challenge of Purse and Stamina
Most of the national parks cover a large area, have diverse ecology and profound cultural heritage, attracting all kinds of donkey friends to compete for it. Whether the travel preference is natural or human, walking through the park gates is like entering a source of happiness. However, most of the parks are far from the city center, and the time, money and energy spent to play a circle are not small, and while enjoying the joy of being close to nature, the wallet and physical strength also need to be challenged.
Greenland National Park covers the largest area in the world, its area is more than the size of 30 countries on Earth combined, 100 times the area of Yellowstone National Park in the United States, and even far larger than the total territorial area of many countries. Rich in natural resources and inaccessible, it is no exaggeration to say that there are more animals than people in the park. The park's official website Greenland.com states: "With the exception of meteorological observatory personnel, Danish reconnaissance units and Sirius patrols, no other residents are stationed here, and the only frequent visitors are whalers from the East Greenland town of Ittoqqortoormiit." ”
Nature lovers who want to check in here have to deal with the tedious process. Greenland's "entrance town" ittoqqortoormiit, which is not similar to other well-known national parks, has only about 450 inhabitants, and it has been described as "greenland's most remote town, an area dominated by dog sledding, adventure cruises and wildlife, and access to Ittoqqortoormiit is an adventure in itself".
The town's harbor is frozen for about 9 months, and due to climatic conditions, most tourists only visit in the summer. If they're arriving by plane, visitors basically fly from Iceland to Neillerit Airport in Kangerlussuaq, greenland's main entrance town, and then take a helicopter ride across the sea in about 15 minutes to the park entrance of the town of Ittoqqortoormiit. Although the flight time is not long, the arrangement of a connecting flight and the payment of a large ticket price for a helicopter still make visitors feel that the visit here is not as convenient as other famous national parks.
The united States' famous Yosemite National Park, located in the east-central part of California, attracts a large number of tourists every year. The activity area on the official website announces the recent special events launched by various national parks throughout the United States, including information such as time, duration, activity content and price. The Yosemite Trail day hike starts at 8 a.m. and ends at approximately 1 p.m., lasts 5 hours and costs $279 per person, and lunch is not included on the tour. It costs about 1700 yuan to hike for half a day, which is still a big expense for ordinary tourists, and a morning of rampage is also a great test of physical fitness.