Facing Desertification, Man’s Campaign Draws 30,000 Volunteers to Plant 1 Million Trees in his County
From the Gansu Corridor region, a rural county is gaining attention after thousands of people from major cities volunteered to help fight desertification. The initiative began after a viral social media campaign called “Plant a Tree in Minqin,” which encouraged people to travel to the area and support environmental restoration efforts.
The focus of the campaign is Minqin County, a desert-edge region that has long struggled with expanding deserts and limited water resources. Since the 1950s, the area has worked to combat desertification through large-scale planting of trees and hardy plants that can survive extreme conditions.
The recent wave of support was sparked by a local resident named Zhong Jin, who created the campaign after returning home to work on desert control projects. His efforts gained popularity through social media and were further boosted when Minqin became the setting of a reality TV program called Become a Farmer, which showed young urban participants learning to farm in harsh conditions.
As a result, around 30,000 volunteers traveled to Minqin between February and May. Many of them were students, families, and fans of the show. They worked in difficult conditions, facing sandstorms, heat, and basic living arrangements, but many also described the experience as meaningful and rewarding.
The campaign aims to plant up to one million trees to protect farmland and water sources. It highlights how social media, entertainment, and environmental awareness can combine to mobilize large-scale public participation in ecological restoration efforts.
Edited using generative AI tools.
Source : https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/30000-volunteers-respond-to-countys-call-to-help-combat-desertification-and-plant-1-million-trees/
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