Volunteers from the Zhiduo Ecological Environmental Protection Association of Sanjiangyuan National Park pick up trash (photo taken on June 15). Xinhua News Agency
Xining, 2 Dec (Xinhua) -- On a winter day in the plateau, in the territory of Colorful Township, Zhiduo County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, at the foot of the majestic snow-capped mountains in the distance, the vast grassland has long faded blue, many green figures are active in the grassland, one abandoned plastic bottle after another, food bags are picked up by them, and the silent grassland becomes vivid.
Jiang Wenpengcuo, 33, is one of the green figures, an administrative worker in Zhiduo County. One summer day in 2016, when Jiang Wenpengcuo and a few friends went to the grasslands around Zhiduo County, they found that domestic garbage such as beverage bottles and plastic bags could be found everywhere.
"Zhiduo" tibetan translation as the source of the Yangtze River, the county is known as the "first county of the Yangtze River", located in the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, Sanjiangyuan National Park and Coco Xili World Natural Heritage Site "triple superposition" special geographical location, with an average altitude of more than 4500 meters.
The living conditions of the local people are getting better and better, and the domestic garbage generated has increased, but many people's environmental protection concepts have not kept up.
"The garbage is like a scar on the grassland, it looks very harsh, and it makes people feel very uncomfortable." Jiang Wenpengcuo said.
After returning home, Jiang Wenpengcuo and two friends discussed the establishment of a volunteer team to pick up garbage in Zhiduo, using their leisure time to pick up garbage around the county seat.
Picking up trash sounds easy, but sticking to it is hard. Jiang Wenpengcuo said that there is garbage in the mud, and it is necessary to dig on the ground, and there is broken glass in the grass, so you must crouch on the ground and cut it. Every time I go out to pick up garbage, I can fill more than a dozen woven bags at a time, and then use my own car to transport it to the garbage disposal plant in the county.
When it comes to the hard work of picking up garbage, the volunteers have stories - the garbage has been put away for a long time, and some volunteers have suddenly begun to vomit when picking it up; after the trunk of the car has been loaded with garbage, the smell in the car has not dissipated for a week; and some people laugh at them for being "tired and tired and not making money".
Even so, everyone is still pinching their noses and insisting.
At first, they were picked up only by a few nearby herders, and more and more people joined the volunteer team. Later, cadres and workers of government agencies, schools, hospitals, and enterprises also participated. The garbage pick-up line includes not only young people, but also the elderly and children. The scope of garbage collection has also been extended to farther around the county seat, as well as Lixin Township, Zhahe Township, Colorful Township and other places.
Volunteers from the Zhiduo Ecological environmental protection association of Sanjiangyuan National Park clean up garbage in the river channel on July 11. Xinhua News Agency
In the spirit of love for the grassland, everyone does not distinguish between you and me, regardless of remuneration, to jointly guard this vast and beautiful land.
Today, the WeChat group of the volunteer team has absorbed more than 80 people, and Soro, a herdsman in Zhisai Village, Zhahe Township, Zhiduo County, is one of the veteran team members.
"I have a hundred cows in my house, and once a few of them died suddenly, and the stomach of the cow was taken out and scratched open, and it was full of plastic bags and cartons." Solo told reporters.
One day in 2016, when Jiang Wenpengcuo and volunteers came to the pasture near Solo's home to pick up garbage, Solo, who was grazing, was touched by the scene in front of him.
"Watching them bend down to pick up the trash, I felt like that was what I should do." Solo put down the whip and immediately joined the volunteer team, which has persisted to this day.
"There is less garbage, and there are fewer and fewer deaths of cattle and sheep eating garbage by mistake." Protecting the ecological environment is to protect the homeland on which we live. "Solo has reaped tangible benefits from ecological improvements.
"If the grassland is destroyed, the cattle and sheep will not be able to survive, the herders will not be able to support themselves, and the golden mountains and silver mountains will be gone." In pastoral areas, cattle and sheep breeding has always been an important way for the vast number of farmers and herdsmen to increase their income, and it has also made Jiang Wenpengcuo keep in mind the simple truth that "green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains".
Jiang Wenpengcuo said that after picking up the garbage, they often do environmental protection propaganda in townships, villages and streets, and bags of garbage are living teaching materials. Environmental protection knowledge has also entered the school classroom, so that children can establish the concept of loving their homes and caring for landscapes from an early age.
Through these years of efforts, the garbage in Zhiduo County has been significantly reduced, and consciously picking up garbage and not littering has become a conscious action of people.
At the same time, with the ecological protection and construction of Sanjiangyuan and the pilot project of the Sanjiangyuan National Park system, the concept of loving green and protecting the ecology has also entered people's hearts.
Volunteers from the Zhiduo Ecological environmental protection association of Sanjiangyuan National Park clean up garbage (photo taken on July 11). Xinhua News Agency
Today, the Zhiduo Garbage Collection Volunteer Team has become an association of the Zhiduo Management Office of the Yangtze River Source Park of Sanjiangyuan National Park - The Zhiduo Ecological Environmental Protection Association of Sanjiangyuan National Park, and everyone has a unified green uniform.
On weekends, green figures are active on the banks of the meadows. Green is the color of the grassland, the color of the source of the three rivers. Jiang Wenpengcuo said that perseverance is only for the green in his heart, because home is always in a place where water and grass are abundant.