Young leaders driving environmental change

Campus action

Li Yanyan, a 20-year-old from Xiangtan, Hunan province, is also a doer.

As a junior majoring in wildlife and nature reserve management at Beijing Forestry University and head of the school's environmental club, Li discovered last September that the glass buildings on campus posed a fatal threat to birds — a danger that had gone largely unnoticed.

This discovery led her to connect with broader efforts to tackle the issue, including the China National Anti-Bird Collision Network, China's largest citizen science project, with tens of thousands of participants.

Li quickly gathered data from the past three years, analyzed it, and submitted a proposal to the university president. She then began advocating for anti-collision window decals across campus.

By December 2024, nearly 300 square meters of glass corridors had been modified. In April, she and her team continued their work, expanding the project to more campus areas.

Her efforts have also inspired similar actions at other universities, including Peking University and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong.

"Protecting biodiversity isn't just the responsibility of a few professionals — it's something everyone should integrate into their daily lives. Only then can we achieve greater goals," she said.

Joining Li in this mission is Sheng Tiancheng, a finance major at the same university. Although his academic background isn't directly related, Sheng is an experienced wildlife conservationist.

He began bird-watching at the age of 12 and has since become a wildlife photographer, capturing images of sparrows in city parks, migratory birds at reservoirs, and animals resting in forests. His work documenting the Skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) even earned him a national photography award.

"Through my camera, more people can appreciate the beauty of wildlife. That sense of wonder can spark love and compassion, and ultimately raise awareness about protecting the natural world," he said.

Sheng is also a nature educator. Each year, he organizes dozens of bird-watching activities, mainly for primary and secondary school students.

In Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, he created a bird-watching camp where he invites experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to lead lessons and incorporate biodiversity knowledge into interactive games.

Sheng believes that even in a "concrete jungle", humans and wildlife breathe the same air — so protecting nature is not a choice but a survival skill we all need to learn.