Hangzhou — College students have returned to campus as the summer vacation is over in China. During summer, some students work for a week to get experience while some chose to join relevant professions early. Hu Yingjia, a sophomore at Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine gathered more than a dozen friends to make a difference. The group of sports girls are obsessed with protecting the environment.
Born in 2001, Hu Yingjia has liked sports since middle and high school. Her favourite sports are outdoor sports, mountain climbing, long-distance running and so on. Upon entering university, she will climb mountains every weekend be it indoors or outdoors. Every weekend is well spent.
According to an article on Qianjiang Evening News, at the start of 2021, Hu Yingjia joined the Blue Anti-Garbage, a nonprofit organisation that practises the concept of “sports, environment protection, dedication and progress.”
Whenever she returns to school, Hu Jingjia observes the streets and surroundings around her and they moved her with the idea of “Clean Mountain Wuhen” as her summer practice. The student spent three days cleaning the area and explored four routes. She mobilised 14 friends, counsellors and teachers to form a campus environmental protection team. During the hottest mid-July for a week in a row, the garbage picking team was dispatched daily.
The area comprises of the back of the school, the university town, along the Qiantang River and the mountains of the West Lake. Each route takes about three or four kilometres and as long as four or five hours to go back and forth. Despite that, the temporarily formed team is exceptionally united, with no one left behind.
In a week, Hu Yingjia and her friends have collected a lot such as cigarette butts, lighters and food packaging bags. Picking up rubbish along the Qiantang River, she realised that the road may seem tidy but there were thousands of cigarette butts. “A lot of rubbish is actually thrown away very secretly. The way to find them is like hunting for treasure in an orienteering game, which is very interesting,” said Hu Yingjia.
The team received kindness for their work with some strangers giving them thumbs up. Some even rewarded them with mineral water and snacks for them. When the summer practice is over, as long as she has time, Hu Yingjia will join the Blue Anti-Garbage movement to clear the mountain. She has walked more than 20 kilometres but she did not complain of being tired.
As reported by Qianjiang Evening News, Hu Yingjia is a native of Hangzhou and lived near the original Huanbei Commodity Market when she was young. She would pass through the area when she headed to school and she would notice the messy environment at that time. She became more aware of the environment as she grew up. According to Hu Yingjia, people born in post-00s may be more spoiled and for them picking up trash is not a decent thing but she wants to make Hangzhou more beautiful and clean. She added that regardless of age, she hopes that everyone does their part.
During August, as the captain of the Blue Anti-Garbage team, Hu Yingjia organised two large-scale mountain cleaning activities. The team consisted of forty or fifty people, made up of young students from various universities in Hangzhou. Currently, Hu Yingjia is preparing to apply for the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency of the University of Chinese Medicine, which will encourage more college students to participate in environmental protection activities.
“College students have requirements for the number of hours of volunteer service. We will combine the Qingshan activities with it and strive to do it once a month.”
According to Hu Yingjia, for every activity, they will leave photos and video materials for every young person involved. Everyone can be promoted and progressed at every level./TISG