“于我，这是一场唤醒认知的启蒙之旅，殷切希望志愿者们种下的棵棵树苗都能顺利长高长大，守护美丽科尔沁” 一位志愿者在植树行后的分享，亦是我们作为组织者十多年行动的初衷和动力。也正是怀着这样的希冀，在2023年6月底，我们正式重启了植树行活动。
‘It’s an awakening trip for me. I sincerely hope that all the saplings that we planted as volunteers will grow and turn into big trees one day, sheltering the beautiful Horqin land, ‘ shared by one of our volunteers after the tree planting trip. The Million Tree Project was started for the hopes like this, and these hopes motivated us to keep going. In June, we restarted the planting trips to get more people involved.
由于是在夏季，地表以流动沙丘为主，因此我们选择适应性更好的灌木：刺榆和小叶锦鸡儿，作为本次植树行的栽植树种。分别来自18家企业和学校的125位志愿者，在这个最炎热的夏季来到科尔沁沙地前后共栽植灌木1100余株。
Because it is summertime and the planting site is mostly shifting sandy land, we chose the highly adaptative shrubs to plant, including Hemiptelea davidii and Caragana. Despite of the hot weather, 125 volunteers from 18 different companies and schools planted over 1100 shrubs on Horqin sandy land in total.
小叶锦鸡儿 Caragana
刺榆 Hemiptelea davidii
在挖坑、栽植、浇水等辛苦、重复的劳动中，他们体会到当地人治理沙漠化的辛苦，也对自己为改善沙漠化贡献一份力量而感到喜悦。活动期间，工作人员还作了生态位的工作坊，让参与者了解到沙漠化治理中不同树种选择的生态考量。
Digging the hole, planting and watering were not easy jobs. Repeating these works over and over, the volunteers understood now it would take a generation or more to fight desertification, and they also felt proud that they made the efforts. The staff organized the workshop on Ecological Niche, explaining how it plays the role when choosing what tree species to plant in sand control.
在一天的植树后，志愿者前往库伦旗参观了塔敏查干沙漠，也聆听了工作人员关于土壤沙化和沙漠化治理方法的工作坊，不仅直观地感受科尔沁沙地的主要环境问题，人地冲突带来的沙漠化，也深刻体会到沙漠化治理的成果和必要性。离开沙漠，志愿者又前往百万植树计划2012年栽植的杨树和樟子松的混交林林地，进行修枝并了解修枝和后续养护对树木生长的作用。合理的修枝能够促进乔木的健康生长，更好的完成防风固沙的作用。
The volunteer went to Kulun Qi to visit Taminchagan Desert on the other day. The staff introduced the knowledge of desertification and the biological, engineering, and technological measures for combating desertification. They learnt about the desertification by seeing firsthand. The measures, such as tree planting are key to control the desertification and stop it from expanding. In the afternoon, the volunteers went to the forest site where a mix of poplars and pines were planted back in 2012. They helped to prune the trees. Pruning, along with other nurturing methods are important for the trees to grow healthily and forming a shelter for the surrounding villages.
在植树行的最后，志愿者们纷纷分享了这次活动带来的思考和期望。他们学到了关于沙漠化的知识，也感受到了治理沙漠化的不易，更希望能够将这份感受带回给自己的朋友与同事，父母与子女，共同为生存的环境出一份力。虽然短短几日的植树行对于沙漠化治理来说微不足道，但只要有更多的人参与进来，一棵树、一个草方格，一颗灌木种子的逐步积累，总会汇聚成绿色的汪洋。
On the last day, the volunteers shared their thoughts and expectations. They have learnt more about desertification and how to tackle the problem. They can’t wait to bring home this knowledge and share with families and friends. They want to urge others to join. The planting trip only last a few days. What we could do during the trip is limited, such as one tree, one straw grid, one seedling, but getting more people involved will bring together unlimited power and transform the degraded land into forests.
