Header image  
Environmental Education Program  
  

 
 
 
 
 
JGI China - Roots & Shoots

link to R&S in China site (in Chinese)

Roots & Shoots is the largest of JGI China’s programs, and has been active in local schools and universities since 2000.  Roots & Shoots is an international hands-on environmental and humanitarian education program, that is about making positive change happen—for our communities, for animals and for the environment.  Started in 1991 by Dr. Jane Goodall and a group of Tanzanian students who wanted to make a difference in their community, R&S is now a growing global program based on the principle that everyone has the ability to bring about change.  The Roots & Shoots Program has been widely successful in China providing a platform for young people to organize activities outside of the school curriculum and participate in environmental, humanitarian and animal protection activities in their local communities. There are now over 300 R&S groups around China; and all of them are based on a spirit of volunteerism, demonstrating that individuals can make a difference through active participation.  Since its inception, R&S has made a long-term impact on many young people, teaching them that they have a role to play in this world and instilling in them a new interest in protecting the environment and animals.

An independent evaluation of the impact of the R&S Program in China, conducted in the spring of 2007 by a group of American Masters students from Columbia University, concluded that over seven years of operation, Roots & Shoots has helped strengthen participants’ “confidence level regarding environment-related knowledge...as well as changed participants’...attitude and behavior towards the environment”. Thanks to Roots & Shoots programs, members were “optimistic and confident…that the initiatives they took in their daily lives to address environmental issues would result in an overall positive impact on their local environment.”

R&S Groups also participate in special R&S programs, including:

  • IFAW Animal Seed Fund (partners with International Fund for Animal Welfare) - encouraging and supporting student groups to help animals
  • Eco-Action Beijing: Saving Our Water – focusing on improving environmental awareness in Beijing for the upcoming Olympics
  • Zoo enclosures enrichment projects (partners with Zoos in China) - improving animals’ living environments in Zoos in China
  • Eco-English training – using English activities as a way of encouraging interest in environmental topics
  • “Pride Campaign” working on environmental education for schools and villagers living in rural areas near the Baishuihe National Nature Reserve (Sichuan Province)

New Projects:

  • Youth Environmental Forum – a series of discussions with experts about hot topics related to the environment, aimed at university-level students. In addition, we would like to bring this Forum to other cities beyond Beijing.
  • Migrant schools partnerships – establishing long-term, effective partnerships between migrant schools with corporate and/or university volunteers who can help to meet certain practical and curriculum needs of migrant schools.
  • Eco-Office Assessment Project – university and high school student volunteers conduct a structured survey of corporate or other offices, and issue to them a report and suggestions on how to make the office more eco-friendly.