The One-day-and-one-night Public Welfare Study Tour Organised by Zigong UNESCO Global Geopark in the Shisun Valley Concludes Successfully

From 19 to 20 August 2023, the "Museum Tours for Kids in Zigong" 2023 Public Welfare Study Tour of Zigong UNESCO Global Geopark was held in the Shisun Valley. The activity was guided by the Zigong Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, hosted by the Administrator Centre of Zigong UNESCO Global Geopark, co-hosted by the Zigong Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League, and undertaken by the Yiqu Nature Conservation Centre. Twenty teenagers were enrolled and organised to have a wonderful one-day-and-one-night study tour for an insight into and an understanding of the Shisun Valley's dome landform and natural life.

On the afternoon of 19 August, after ecological games, group division, group introduction and safety education, the study tour officially started. That night, under the guidance of the nature instructors, students strolled in the Shisun Valley to explore and observe animals; they also learned about insect phototaxis through the light trapping experiment.

In the early morning of 20 August, the study tour began with a spotted mantis. The excited students got up early and found this little creature outside the camp swaying its body like a leaf.

Later, each group got an exploration card for the Shisun Valley. Under the guidance of the nature instructors, they walked on the winding path in high spirits, ready to explore native and alien invasive species. During the exploration, the student "small white" found a Japanese horned beetle that was eating a pear in a ditch. This got all the students excited again. Everyone wanted to have a close look at or touch it.

After returning to the camp, the students summarised their natural discoveries of that day and the night before and shared the animals and plants that impressed them most one by one. Through careful planning and cooperation, each group made a green map of the Shisun Valley with their own characteristics and displayed it. The children excitedly expressed their gains, thoughts, and expectations.

The study tour activity hoped to deepen the students' understanding of Zigong UNESCO Global Geopark and raise their interest in approaching, exploring, and protecting nature.