On April 6th, during the long weekend holiday, IMPA and Chinese students from SPPM stepped out of campus as volunteers to plant trees in Beijing suburb.
In the morning, a school bus with around 20 students arrived a tree farm of Qiaozi Town, Huairou District. Excited with voluntary work, students began to pick up saplings and shovels, and plant trees in groups. They marked trees they’ve planted and expressed that they felt delighted that the saplings with their name tag could grow to big trees soon.
Getachew from IMPA 2015 class said, “It is relaxing to go outdoor after intensive study, and I am proud to contribute to a better environment in Beijing as an international student.” He used to plant trees in his home country- Ethiopia; and through this activity, he could also see the efforts of Chinese citizens and government to improve the environment.
On the way back, IMPA and Chinese students played word-guessing game together. The happy hour is a good interaction to help international students to get to know more Chinese words, and also help the Chinese students to improve their English proficiency.
Tree-planting activity is co-organized by the Green Association of Tsinghua and SPPM, which aims to enhance the participant's awareness of environmental protection, and provide an opportunity for cultural exchange and language learning among Chinese and international students.
