Action Plan Title: BSN Guardians: River Clean-Up and Finless Porpoise Conservation Club

Please describe your Action Plan in one or two sentences.

At BELL, my initial action plan was to raise money for a cleanup of the local Yangtze River. However, it pivoted to starting a finless porpoise conservation club at school and organizing our own cleanup.

What steps and efforts have you taken so far to advance your project?

Throughout the school year, BSN Guardians participated in numerous events like the Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Summer Fairs to raise awareness and recruit members. We made a group chat for people who were interested in conservation efforts in the Yangtze and advertised our events. For career day, we invited a conservationist from the Nanjing Porpoise Association to speak at our school. 

A month before Earth Day, my team and our principal discussed the possibility of planning a river cleanup - we worked with him to find a time slot, arrange transportation to the volunteers, and got news coverage of the event. On Earth Day, we would manage to clear 80 bags of trash (500kg in total) from the riverbank with a group of 62 students from Year 6-12, along with 5 teachers and 4 parents despite the rain.

How did you get interested in this issue? Why does this issue matter to you and should it matter to others? What new insight or learning do you have about this issue?

At the BELL Program in Alaska, I saw how nature prospered at China Poot Bay and the former site of the Eklutna dam. In fact, I was astounded by how pristine both ecosystems were compared to that of the urbanized, polluted Yangtze.  I felt a duty to restore the Yangtze ecosystem after learning what it could've been. Though I was thousands of miles away from Nanjing, it dawned on me that most rivers around the world are facing a similar, interconnected problem. This program inspired me to help mitigate some of the damage done to the ecosystem back home.

What challenges and obstacles have you experienced and how have you addressed these challenges?

A major obstacle was finding a place to start. I wasn't sure whether the people at my school would be interested, nor did I know where to look for an NGO. Luckily, mom helped me contact the NGO I was looking for by removing some of the language barrier (I'm not very fluent in Mandarin). She also introduced me to my school's student president, who I didn’t know who also had an interest in conservation. From there, it was mostly smooth sailing since we soon after founded BSN Guardians and officially formed a team.

What tips and advice would you give to new students as they think about developing and working on their own Action Plans?

• Start small – build awareness over time – special events at school are a great place to start. Our organization did not pick up momentum until after the Christmas Fair – we were able to spread awareness and recruit students and parents

• Set realistic goals – its an ongoing process that doesn’t end with one clean-up

• Don’t rush when planning – it’s a slow process 

• Don’t be afraid to ask for guidance – get your friends and family involved to increase membership.

• Get featured in your school newspaper (if possible – it’s good publicity)

• Recruit from lower grades – the club must continue year after year

• Get the faculty/community leaders on board:

• Our principal was incredibly supportive – he gave us generous donations at the fair and also discussed with the conservationist we brought in for career day on future projects – like the clean-up I originally was going for.

• Reach out to other NGOs to cross-promote. For example, I contacted the Trash Punx in San Jose, CA to cross-promote our Earth Day events on Instagram. I also got to meet them in-person in June to share ideas.