The Jane Goodall Institute- Roots & Shoots Beijing Office

Add：Room 1309 Beijing City International School (BCIS) No. 77 Baiziwan Nan Er Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, P. R. China
Zip：100022
Tel：+86 (10) 6778 3115 / 6778 5802
Fax：+86 (10) 6778 2757
Email：info@jgichina.org  
Website：www.jgichina.org

Roots & Shoots Beijing Office Introduction ：

Since the Roots & Shoots Beijing Office was established in 2000, the Roots & Shoots Program has been widely successful providing a platform for young people to organize activities outside the school curriculum and participate in environmental, humanitarian and animal protection activities in their local communities. The focus of the R&S Beijing Office is on expanding the R&S network, while building capacities of R&S group mentor teachers, student leaders and all members, as well as R&S volunteers, through training workshops and participation in projects and events throughout the year.

Current projects being undertaken by the R&S Beijing Office and its associated network include:

• Animal Welfare Education: R&S Beijing is working with RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and a Committee of experienced teachers from all over China, to develop a Handbook for Animal Welfare Education for China with training for local teachers. There are also seed funds, the “IFAW Animal Seed Fund,” available for activities with students.

• “College Leadership Council: The R&S Beijing Office is bringing the Roots & Shoots College Leadership Council (R&S CLC) model from the United States to China, in which a group of 12 student leaders from across the country meet every month online to plan cooperative awareness projects.

• Eco-Action Beijing: Each year the Roots & Shoots Beijing Office creates a different theme-based curriculum and implements related teacher and mentor training. The Eco-Action Beijing project then encourages students to build their awareness, discuss issues together and take action.
• Eco-English: Involving international volunteers to use English language activities in the classroom as a way of encouraging young people’s interest in environmental topics.

• The constructed wetlands at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB)’s Duck Lake: The Roots & Shoots Beijing Office helped to facilitate the development of the Green Generation Environmental Education Center at the site, where students having can participate in learning activities about wetlands and water, monitoring water quality.

Recent Events/Group News

1.Beijing Yucai School Roots & Shoots Group Cares for Disadvantaged Groups During the Winter Vacation

2.In Matouzhuang villiage, Shunyi district, there is a home for street kids known as the Guang’ai School. It has 103 children who were previously homeless and living on the streets of Beijing. On January 16th, 12 people including students and teachers from Yucai School’s R&S Group visited Guang’ai School to learn about the school, donate some food and study materials and play with the children. The founder, Mr. Shi Qinghua, described his motivation for setting up the school to the visiting students: ’We all pursue warmth in life;’ he said, ’let love educate us and shape our behavior’.

3.Dr. Goodall’s 2008 Visit to China

On December 4th to December 7th, world-renowned environmentalist Dr. Jane Goodall visited Beijing; she has visited Beijing almost every year for the past eleven, to bring her messages of environmental sustainability and education. This year, Dr. Jane took part in the Roots & Shoots China Summit, meeting with almost 180 young representatives of R&S groups from all over China. She also made public speeches and school visits, addressing a total of more than 4,000 people; as well as several media interviews that reached much wider audiences.

4.Harvest for Hope: a Guide to Mindful Eating will be published in Chinese in April 2009

The Roots & Shoots Beijing Office will be releasing the Chinese version of Harvest for Hope: a Guide to Mindful Eating, in cooperation and with much support from the Shaanxi Peoples’ Publishers, in April of 2009. Harvest for Hope: a Guide to Mindful Eating encourages us to consider the significance of our daily food choices. Dr. Goodall and her co-authors, Gary McAvoy and Gail Hudson, demonstrate a variety of ethical issues related to the sustainability of natural resources, the well-being of animals and our own health, as these issues relate to the food we eat.