Chinese Flyway Activities

Masha Vladimirtseva, a crane researcher in Yakutia, Russia, traveled to China in fall 2007 to visit several project sites along the Siberian Crane flyway. Masha visited Momoge Nature Reserve in northeastern China - where she and her colleagues saw 1,600 Siberian Cranes (half of the total number of Siberian Cranes in the world!) - and visited several schools to learn about project activities in China and share news about students in Russia.

Field work in Momoge Nature Reserve

My trip to China began with field work in Momoge Nature Reserve in Jilin Province. We reached Momoge on October 19 and saw there many Siberian Cranes. The cranes had stopped at the reserve for several days on their fall migration from the Yakutian tundra to the Poyang Lake Basin in southeastern China, to rest and feed before continuing their long way. One day we could count up to 1,600 Siberian Cranes!

To see them closer, we used a tent blind to hide from the cranes (right). So we could see the cranes sometimes from a distance of just 50 meters! One of our team members, Sergei, was the first who could hear as one Siberian Crane vocalized very clear as “ky-ta-lyk, ky-ta-lyk, ky-ta-lyk..." You know, in Yakutian language the word for Siberian Crane sounds like “kytalyk." But in Yakutia it is very hard to hear clearly the cranes' voices - on the tundra during the summer breeding season, cranes are very shy, and each pair keeps far away from others. But in Momoge we could see crowded Siberian Cranes. Sometimes they had small fights for the best place on their shallow lake, where they foraged for water plant roots from sunrise to sunset (below).

Panjin School

On November 8, International Crane Foundation staff members Jim Harris and Elena Ilyashenko, along with Fion Cheung, an environmental educator from Hong Kong, and I visited Panjin Xinlong Primary School with the Director of the Shuangtaiheko National Nature Reserve in Liaoning Province. We met the school director and teachers. They showed us the students' beautiful work related to wildlife conservation and protection (the school is a "national green school"). Not just art work, but also related newspaper articles, and articles in periodicals by students. This school supports exchanges with students from Japan – we could see art of young Japanese, too.

Especially, we were excited with a movie created by one student. It was a movie about Panjin. We saw Panjin wildlife, people, buildings… We learned of many things in Panjin from this film! It was made so professionally – we were surprised it was created by so young an author! We were very happy to meet the film maker, a young man, after seeing the movie! Elena Ilyashenko presented to him a beautiful bandana with flying Siberian Cranes. I presented to him the Yakutian badge with boy and crane. Then, we went to the classroom. We enjoyed there a great presentation by a boy and girl, supported by all boys and girls in the classroom.

Later, we ourselves gave presentations to the students. We talked to them - students in China and Yakutia share with Siberian Cranes the same countries. In summer the cranes breed in Yakutia, and they spend winter in China. We think that Siberian Cranes may integrate students in China and Yakutia. When students became adults, they will protect wetlands used by cranes in China and Yakutia. But now students can start to communicate. Elena Ilyashenko and I played with children special “crane games."

The Chinese students prepared their small gifts for Yakutian students – cranes in little pictures! I also left in this classroom art work from Yakutian students. We were very pleased to see so disciplined students, as they are clever, as they are educated, and they were really interested in our visit, and we could feel their hospitality. We were happy to visit this school. Thank you to all students, and to teachers!

Xianghai Nature Reserve Schools

On November 9-10 Elena Ilyashenko and I, led by Yang Jun, Research Director of Xianghai Nature Reserve, and Zhang Juan from Beijing Brooks Education Center, met with the director and teachers of two schools near Xianghai Nature Reserve. We could see that the teachers are so attentive to environmental education of their students. One of the young teachers, from a school where most of the students are Mongolian, is so talented – she can create crane art herself. We agreed to arrange regular mail correspondence between Chinese and Yakutian students, because students in both countries sometimes may have difficulties with Internet access. The only shared language students can communicate in is English, so, we believe that the teachers of English language may help the students in this communication.

On the walls of this school we could see the stories in pictures made by students. These stories happened with cranes as a result of interactions with people. Some of the stories had a good ending, but some had a sad ending. These students are aware of their responsibility for wildlife around them. It is much easier to be aware with such educators around them. Even the school fence is decorated with cranes!

The next school we visited was in Xianghai Nature Reserve, on November 10. In the classroom we met with students from different classes. I showed them a PowerPoint presentation about Yakutia and education activities there. These students were so sympathetic - many students said they would be happy to communicate with Yakutian students! After the presentations, we were like actors and actresses, playing roles of Siberian Cranes. We played conflict between the crane breeding pairs and other behaviors (below left). All actors and actresses where rewarded with crane bandanas and badges. One actress played her own “Crane Dance" (below right). She was gracious like a real crane!

Then, the students enjoyed “crane games” suggested by Elena Ilyashenko. It was really fun, and also, students could feel as real birds. Some of them played roles of migrating cranes and they met with “threats” (represented by other students). "Migrating cranes" should run very fast from “breeding ground, Yakutia” (marked by one of the adults) to “wintering ground, China” (marked by another adult), and they should try to not be captured by “threats,” such as “poachers,” “lead poisoning,” “fires" or “power lines".

 

Tianjin Schools

On November 14, we had a meeting at a Tianjin school with the best educators, who are really interested in working in environmental education. Again I could see the high level of education work in China. We shared with PowerPoint presentations. Also, during a break between lessons, two students - a boy and the girl - presented for us an ecological show. It was like an environmental poem, very fun and very clever.

In all Chinese schools we could see that the teachers very successfully educate children on the main environmental conservation problems, like lacking wood and water resources, and ways of problem solving (i.e. do not use wood for producing chopsticks). It is absolutely clear that students do not just pronounce nature conservation words but can feel all this in their hearts. I think we need to learn more from Chinese educators how to involve students in nature and wildlife saving in the best ways.