SIP Hudong Community Working Committee on Nov 23 carried out a campaign to mark the World Soil Day which is observed annually on Dec 5 to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.

 

The event included a series of activities at Hudong Neighborhood Center. The participants could exchange their waste and used articles such as plastic bottles, pop-top cans and books for daily use articles or gifts like toys, stationery and reading cards, or buy some organic food products to redeem a voucher for organic vegetable.

 

Concurrently, led by Prof. Gu Fugen, an expert in plant taxonomy from Soochow University, 15 families visited Baitang Botanical Garden where they gained a better understanding of the importance of soil conservation.

Moreover, a team of volunteers fertilized the green belts in several residential quarters using compost made from kitchen waste and introduced the benefits of making and using compost of the kind to the residents there. Another volunteer team distributed the Letter of Appeal for Reducing Use of Plastics to business operators at a local business street, and offered them eco-friendly paper bags and takeout containers as substitutions for plastic products that can cause pollution to soil.

Statistics show that the event helped collect over 500 plastic bottles and pop-top cans, 67 boxes of expired drugs, eight used and broken lamps, and more than 400 second-hand books. They will be taken to a local company later for recycling.