Good News from Xianghai

Hi dear friends! This is Kang Yun from Beijing, China.

I used to be an educator for Crane Project with Beijing Brooks Education Center, so I visited both Xianghai Nature Reserve and Wisconsin. I remember clearly all schools which were involved in this beautiful project, I love you kids and teachers!

Just yesterday, I heard a good news from Ms. Shi Yanqiu, Xianghai Middle School teacher. She told me that they have received all books donated by Milwaukee teacher. All teachers and students of Xianghai Middle School were very exciting for those precious gifts! Without his consent, I can't say the Milwaukee teacher's name. But I should tell you all kids in Xianghai love the cute teacher. And me too:)

The Note Card Club

The Xianghai Note Card Club says thanks to their American friends!

By Jim Harris, International Crane Foundation

On January 14, I visited Xianghai Town, and met with the art teacher Shi Yanqiu and 12 students from Xianghai Primary and Middle Schools. Thanks to money raised by Farit and students at Tower Rock Elementary School in Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin (USA), Ms. Shi was able to buy art supplies and take the Xianghai students out every Saturday to study nature, make art, and do conservation activities.

In winter at Xianghai, it is very cold. Livestock graze on the winter grass.

Sometimes there are too many goats that can damage the land.

The grass and goat herds have suffered because recent years have had little rain. The cranes could not nest because wetlands dried up. Last August, a big rain filled the wetlands. Now, in winter, the water waits, frozen over the land. The ice will melt in spring, and the birds will be able to nest again.


I call the Xianghai students the Note Card Club, because they are supported by sale of Farit’s note cards. But the Xianghai children also have made note cards, that ICF is selling on our website [please visit http://www.craneshop.org/]. Money from these cards helps the Chinese children continue their activities in 2009. We will be supporting more students in Inner Mongolia in summer.

Here is a picture of the Note Card Club. They have all raised their hands, because their art has improved during these last months, even the teacher’s art!


One of the students named Yue (below) told me,“Cranes are smart. If we love them, they will love us back. “Everyone here cares. I grew up in the nature reserve.

I want to help the cranes. My strength is little, but I will do my best.”


Another student, Gao Yue (below right), said, “We went to Crane Island several times. I remember especially after the water returned. In front of Crane Island was like autumn, behind – with water -- was like summer!

“We did a lot of environmental action, like picking up garbage.”


And a younger student from the primary school, Tianfeng (below right), has learned more about cranes, “After summer, under our teacher’s instruction, we went out every Saturday afternoon. I learned a lot.

“Before, I drew red-crowned cranes with green legs like grass. But then I noticed cranes legs are dark!”


Here are students doing their art. Some of their art has traveled to Milwaukee, where Americans can see how Chinese children love nature and work for conservation.


They thank the American children for their help!

St. Rose Elementary School

14 February 2008

St. Rose Elementary School is also in Milwaukee, WI. Barb prepared a very delicious lunch for us. Today is Valentine's Day, and we are very lucky to spend this day with the students. We gave presents to each other and developed a sincere friendship. In China, most Chinese celebrate Valentine's Day for love, not for friendship, and I think this is what we should learn from here.

By the way, we also have a Chinese Valentine's Day -- a romantic but sad story about a pair that live in the sky but are separated by the Milky Way. They can only meet once a year on lunar July 7th. On that day, many magpie (Chinese legend says that when you hear a magpie a good event will soon follow ) will fly to the sky and build a bridge for their meeting, so that this day is our Chinese Valentine's Day.

At the break time, we played games together, a very interesting and smart game. We have a similar game named “Wu Zi Qi." I use my camera to ake a group picture of all the teachers and students. When I run back and say "1, 2, 3," my camera flashes …..all of the smiles are in one picture. What a happy time...

Mitchell Elementary School

14 February 2008

We visited Mitchell Elementary School in Milwaukee, WI today. One of the teachers here, Mike, visited China last year and will come to China again this summer. Some of the students in this school are from Mexico, so there are many classes taught in Spanish. We met three classes here and were very, very busy. We met some students who may go to China in 2009. They are interested in China and would like to see different things. If teachers can create more opportunities for students to learn more about the world, the students will have an exciting experience and a broader view of the world.

Neenah Creek Elementary School

12 February 2008

We visited Neenah Creek Elementary School in Briggsville, WI within the ICF Sandhill Crane study area. There are many corn fields near the school (above), so the students can see Sandhill Cranes when the birds are in the fields. There are also many wetlands and grasslands near the school, which is why it is easy to do ecology studies and education work here.

It is a small school, 90 students total, from kindergarden to grade 5. There are many interesting artwork everywhere. After a delicious Mexican lunch, we gave our presentation to grades 3-5. The students are very smart, they ask many questions that I never think about, such us why the crane is not in the Chinese zodiac? It is a really complicated question, and I think nobody could answer. We play jianzi and give some Chinese student artwork to the school, sharing more interesting stories and thinking between each other. I believe the people who live close to nature are lucky and happy, they can find more beauty and wonder in the world , and they can get more personal growth from nature.

Hawley Environmental School

9 February 2008

Amy is a teacher at Hawley Environmental School. She is also one of the teachers who came to Xianghai Nature Reserve last summer. She teaches all of the Hawley students about nature and the environment. We like her classroom very much, because there are not only beautiful posters in the room, but it is also a warm house! Students can do experiments themselves and observe real life in the classroom.

During our presentation, the students asked many good questions about cranes and wetlands. Some of the questions are very professional, and we couldn’t answer all of them. We all think that the students here know more about nature and animals, and that this is because 0f Amy’s work. The students are very interested in Chinese and Russia culture, so in addition to the presentations, both Marina and we sing and dance!

After class, there are still some students asking questions -- how they love to learn. We tell them more about nature conservation in schools near the nature reserves in China. No matter an urban or rural area, no matter in China or America, we believe communication is important and people should know more about nature, sharing one world, and do more activities in future. At last we also do more artwork like the students -- another special memory for us!

At the end of the day, we visit the Betty Brinn Children's Museum, where the Three White Cranes, Two Flyways, One World art exhibition is on display. The director is a warm-hearted man, who arranged for the exhibit to run through March. Milwaukee is a nice city with old and modern buildings, and many gulls flying around the city.

Golda Meir School

8 February 2008

It is a sunny day when we get up in the morning, the trees are in the golden sunlight. It is really a good day. We visit Jan’s school in Milwaukee, Golda Meir School. Jan is one of the American teachers who came to Xianghai Nature Reserve last summer, and we visited Zhalong and Muraviovka Park in Russia together. We shared a room sometimes during our trip, so we often tell others that we are roommates!

Golda Meir is an old and pretty school, and is both an elementary and middle school. The teachers and students gave us many surprises -- the red color and lantern for the Chinese New Year, even some Chinese words such as "恭贺新禧" (Happy New Year). We are so moved! We give our presentation to the students. They have already learned about cranes and wetlands, so they know some stories about cranes in China. In the classroom, there is some artwork about cranes and wetlands, and we also see artwork from Chinese students.

At lunch, six lovely students show us around and one boy plays piano for us, both Chinese and Russian teachers. There are three flags on the table (Chinese, Russian and American) -- another surprise! Jan, all the lovely kids, thank you very much! We play 毽子 (Jianzi), a traditional Chinese game, with the kids and talk with the teachers. We learn more about the different ways of teaching and enjoy ourselves very much! When we talk to Jan after class, she tells me that creative teaching is what she likes most. I think creativity is important, in this way teachers will like teaching and students will like learning. That is the real core of education, not the examinations.

Wisconsin Landscape

As we are traveling, there is a beautiful “snowscape” outside the car window…. we all like snow very much. When we see a lovely house in the snow, it looks really pure and quiet. This is a typical American field, with rolling grasses, a water tower (with the symbol of the Ho-Chunk Nation), and horses that are different from those found in China.

Sauk Prairie Middle School & Memorial High School

4 February 2008

Today we visited Sauk Praire Middle School -- the students were quieter than I imagined. We gave our presentation to them to introduce the cranes and wetlands in China and play Jianzi, a traditional Chinese game (like hacky sack). Jianzi is made of bird feathers, it has a long history. They all love it and enjoy it very much.

We left one piece of Chinese student’s artwork here “The plum and the crane” as a good memory. The school is near the Wisconsin River were many bald eagles gather, so eagles can be seen everywhere. When we go out of the school, we are discussing that this is just as the crane in China. So maybe there are many interesting stories between people and nature all over the world that we can learn.

In the afternoon, we visited a Chinese language class at James Madison Memorial High School. All of the students in this class can understand Chinese. We find an interesting sentence on the door “please speak Mandarin." There are many traditional Chinese things in this classroom, we are surprised to see that, especially the teacher, who can speak quite good Chinese. Hu Yabin gave a lesson about cranes and wetlands in China. She is a biology teacher and she is from Beijing, so she teaches not only biology but Chinese in this class (ha ha). They all like Chinese culture and they ask many question about Chinese wetlands and conservation activities, and also some questions about the difference between Beijing and Madison.

Devil’s Lake tour and bird watching

3 February 2008

We visited Devil’s Lake State Park with an educator and two researchers from ICF. We followed the trail to the bluff mountain. It is a quiet place in winter, everything is peaceful, so are the birds… We enjoyed ourselves very much when we walked in the deep snow. When I touch the old stone with long history, I can feel the surprising changes from the ice age in the past… The natural area could tell us some stories, although it doesn’t say a word. If you want to know this, you should use not only your eyes and mind, but also your heart.

There is a dam that keeps a lot of fish in Sauk City, where there is a place for bald eagles to hunt. Several eagles are flying in the sky. There are so many ducks in the river. Near the bird-watching site, there is some information about eagles for the public.