1. CE MOOC Project
Native Species
Conservation
Group in
Shanghai
Forest City Studio
Shanghai, China
Yan Zhu

2. 1
PROJECT INTRODUCTION
 Forest City Studio was initiated by a group of young and passionate
naturalists who work together to protect the natural lands and conserve
native species in Shanghai.
 I got to know Forest City Studio through their educational program on
interpreter training. Starting the first week of September, a group of 50
volunteers attended this interpreter training program and learned about
the plants, insects, fish, birds, mammals, and shells commonly seen and
used to be found in Shanghai. They also learned about the geological
formations of Yangtze River Delta, the long civilization of ancient
Chinese who live in the area, and loss of biodiversity in Shanghai, from a
small fishing village to a metropolitan.
 In addition to indoor lectures and discussion, we have opportunities to
apply these knowledge and skills in several outdoor bases, including
public gardens, abandoned wild lands, wetland parks etc. Volunteers
may bring their children or nephews/nieces to these outdoor training.
We can practice our interpretation skills with fellow volunteers and the
children.
 90% volunteers successfully completed the 2-month intensive training
program (10am to 5pm on weekends) and started to impart their
knowledge and skills to the general public, notably children, help them
identify what they saw in the parks, wetlands, and neighborhood
gardens, and raise their awareness of native species and interaction with
the outdoors. Our goal is to increase the public’s understanding of
native species, help prevent invasive species such as water hyacinth and
lion fish, and gather the public effort in the conservation of native plants
and animals.

3. 2
TEN PRINCIPLES
 The project included both indoor lectures and outdoor field practices. I
think, the civic ecology practices can be seen through two outdoor field
bases we have investigated.
 Emergence: Why do civic ecology practices happen?
1. Civic ecology practices emerge in broken places.
2. Because of their love for life and love for the places they have lost,
civic ecology stewards defy, reclaim and re-create these broken
places.
 Bricolage: Piecing the practice together
3. In re-creating place, civic ecology practices re-create community.
4. Civic ecology stewards draw on social-ecological memories to re-
create places and communities.
5. Civic ecology practices produce ecosystem services.
6. Civic ecology practices foster well-being.
7. Civic ecology practices provide opportunities for learning.
 Zooming Out: A systems perspective
8. Civic ecology practices start out as local innovations and expand to
encompass multiple partnerships.
9. Civic ecology practices are embedded in cycles of chaos and
renewal, which in turn are nested in social-ecological systems.
 Policy Makers: Understanding and enabling
10. Policy makers have a role to play in growing civic ecology
practices.

4. 3
 Yijiayuan Garden of Native Plants: Located in an abandoned construction
site by the Yaogao Highway (Principle 1), Yijiayuan is a residence block
in Pudong, Shanghai (South of the Huangpu River). The government
plants botanical plants nearby this residence area to beautify the
surroundings, but many of the palm trees they planted could not survive
the cold winters in Shanghai. Plus, it costs a fortune to care for these
trees, so some of the land in this garden was left alone. Although other
trees such as camphor trees and willow trees were native to China, but
they were not native plants in Shanghai. In addition, when planted in
large areas with the same species, many died of diseases or bug attacks.
Because of our love for Shanghai (Principle 2), we worked with volunteer
interpreters and local residents to identify and record the species in the
garden, and then replaced the exotic species with native plants (Principle
3). This not only increased the diversity of garden and provide food for
native birds and butterflies (Principle 5), but also reduced the workload
for gardeners as well as the cost for maintenance. Even though it is a
public garden, the government has been supportive for this practice
(Principle 10) as it brings the community together and help increase the
science literacy of citizens (Principle 7).
A Natural Wetland: We also investigated an abandoned parking lot near
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Because of the construction
for the museum, a wetland was formed naturally with the mud piles, the
dig holes, rain water, and seeds of native plants brought by wind
(Principle 1). We found more than 100 native plants in the area,
including the endangered wild beans that was used to cultivate
soybeans and several herbs that can be used for traditional Chinese
medicine (Principle 4). However, we also found Eichhornia crassipes,
commonly known as water hyacinth, a highly problematic invasive
species in ponds and lakes in China. Another exotic species we identified
was Solidago Canadensis, also known as Canada goldenrod or Canadian
goldenrod. It was introduced as an ornamental in flower gardens, but
now has taken over the herbaceous perennial native plant in China
(Principle 7). The team at Forest City Studio has brought many urban
citizens to this ignored wild area in the populated and urbanized

5. 4
Pudong. Many families who have been visiting the science and
technology museum regularly had no idea of this wild area nearby until
they participated in the interpretation activities held by Forest City
Studio. These educational program guide children to observe, discover,
and use all their senses to explore in the nature, help them connect with
the place they were born and will grow up, and build a sense of place
(Principle 2). This place has been a wonderland for native species, the
local residents who love and care about nature, parents and child who
want to spend meaningful family time, as well as farmer who harvest
lotus and other edible water plants. However, the new construction
project will start next Spring and we might not be able to come back to
this place. Because of our love for the land, we are advocating for public
awareness of the importance of urban wild land and voices out for
keeping this land with socioecological memories (Principle 3).
SELF INTRODUCTION
As an interdisciplinary researcher, Yan Zhu holds a B.E. in Environmental
Engineering (2006), a M.Sc. in Environmental Management (2009), and a
Ph.D. in Science Education (2015). Her volunteering experience at
environmental organizations (e.g., WWF, Friends of Nature, WCS) and work
experience as environmental/outdoor educators (e.g., Wolf Ridge ELC, MN
and W. Alton Jones EEC, RI) led her into the field of environmental
education (EE). Her research interests include the assessment of
environmental literacy, as well as the development of formal EE curriculum
for K-16 and non-formal EE programs for national parks, museums,
botanic gardens, and youth centers etc. In March, 2015, She returned
China and started working in an Educational Group located in Shanghai, a
metropolitan with a population of over 20 million. She felt a sense of lost
and suffers from retro-culture shock, and resorted to the museums of
natural history, botanic gardens, zoos, and parks to reconnected with the
nature.
COURSE REFLECTION
Although I had to work full-time on weekdays for money and attend extra
courses on weekend for personal interest, I still managed to completed
Civic ecology course. This course has been very helpful to understand the

6. 5
underlying reasons of my behavior and environmental stewardship of
many civic groups in China. I echoed most on the theory of biophilia and
topophilia, and found it as a link to make new friends in this metropolitan.
This course helps me reach out to the community and connect with people
who love nature and care for the environment. For example, I benefits a lot
from the CE MOOC wechat group when I can discuss and learn from
classmates all over China. Plus, it is great to meet some of my online
classmates in the real world as we have been actively participating in the
civic ecology practices. Small world, but we are together for a better,
sustainable world.