Two generations' dedication turns forest park into a thriving ecological area
The Youyou Forest
Across from the Hongqiao traffic hub is a forest that covers about 13 hectares, just off Zhaojia Road in Zhaojiacun Village.
The forest has been growing in Huacao Town for two generations. But 20 years ago it was a deserted rice paddy field.
"The villagers learned that I ran a plant nursery. They found me and asked if I was interested in the land," said Yin Wenyuan, a nursery owner. "So I rented the land and grew some seedlings for landscaping. They turned into bigger trees and I loved the idea of having a thriving forest. I built water channels and lakes, and put more effort into it."
As the forest spread, Yin began his mission to both benefit his hometown while creating a thriving ecological area.
However, at the time, he failed to meet some of the proper land use policies, and the development of his forest had come to a halt.
It wasn't until 10 years later that Yin's dream was reignited when Yin Junlan, his daughter, returned after completing her master's program in the UK.
Yin Junlan (left) and her father Yin Wenyuan have big ambition for the forest park they have nurtured in Huacao Town, to make it into a family-friendly site to get children close to the nature.
"I'm really close to my father, so when he decided to develop the land again, I was very supportive. I knew how much effort he had put into it. We wanted to turn the forest into a family-freindly campsite," said Yin Junlan.
Before she undertook the project, she had been a bank clerk and a cafe owner.
During a visit to Taiwan, Yin learned how important nature and forest education meant to local children, and founded the Firefly Parents and Kids Nature Club. Whenever the seasons changed, she would bring groups of children to admire the flowers, watch birds, catalog insect, watch the stars and do other nature-related activities.
When nature education was still somewhat of a novelty in Shanghai, Yin visited almost every park in the city, from those near her residential complex to the Dongtan natural reserve in Chongming Island. During her visits, she got along well with a group of experts and scholars, and was moved by their unrequited efforts in bringing children closer to nature.
"Living in a bustling metropolis like Shanghai, it's easy to feel disconnected from nature. However, we mustn't confine our children to a world of steel and concrete," said Yin, who is a mother herself.
"Their extracurricular life should not center around just shopping malls and cram lessons. Given an opportunity to be closer to nature, they will care about it, and love it."
The Youyou Forest also has a farm where children can feed animals within a close range.
The beautiful scenery of a lake inside Youyou Forest
The forest, which the father and the daughter named "Youyou," (the crying of a deer), exudes a sense of nature.
In its westernmost tip there is a 1-meter-wide path where cedar trees are planted neatly on both sides. A river runs through in the west, where mosses lay thickly on the banks. As seasons change, the cedar trees change their colors as well from green in summer to gold in autumn.
The father and daughter also avoided common water facilities like boating and fishing, and instead set up piles in a lake for water fowls to rest.
To provide sufficient food, they planted water grasses for shrimps and fish – food for the birds – and fruit trees. Bird feeders have also been equipped at places within the monitoring ranges of infrared cameras.
The forest is now home to seven little wild grebes, and a frequent haunting place for rare birds like hoopoe and kingfishers.
Activities in the forest cater to children at different age groups: a "forest academy" providing a variety of games, a vegetable garden where children can experience tilling and gardening, a farm where they can feed animals within a close range, and a Longjing tea garden that has a Jiangnan-style appeal.
Starting from 2021, fireflies have been spotted along its lotus pond and bamboo forest.
"It's a signal that our ecological standard has won a gold medal," said Yin Junlan joyfully.
The forest is now home to over 300 plants.
"We're thinking about planning commercial facilities like hotels and restaurants around the forest to support the growth of Youyou Forest," said Ma Ming, the village head of Zhaojiacun Village.
