City's 'Plant Guardians' Project Aims to Protect Endangered Species

Have you noticed that the ginkgo, the beloved sight gracing streets and lanes in Shanghai every autumn, is actually an ancient species that emerged over 300 million years ago. Yet this "living fossil of plants" is now facing a severe survival crisis.

Eucommia ulmoides, once heavily felled for its potent natural adhesive properties and medicinal value, has gradually faded from memory as new materials replaced it, and efforts to protect it have dwindled into neglect.

Driven by wind, nourished by rain, bathed in sunlight, and aided by animal activities, plants thrive and multiply endlessly. However, many of these long-standing plant species have been quietly disappearing – some already gone, others on the verge – due to both intrinsic and external environmental factors. In China, 10 to 20 percent of wild plant species are under threat. Their stories, though, deserve more than a silent ending; they need to be seen and heard by more people.

The "Plant Guardians" Youth Art and Culture Project about Endangered Plants program has been launched under this background.

Hosted by Shanghai Botanical Garden and the SEE Foundation, in partnership with the Xuhui District Youth Activity Center, Shanghai Daily, and Business Ecology, it aims to encourage more young people to step into nature, observe and care about endangered plants and biodiversity, and turn "seeing the rare" into an act of protection.

The program includes a series of activities such as a youth art and culture creation competition, youth nature creation camps, and online workshops, empowering young participants with science popularization education on endangered plants.

Registration for the "Plant Guardians" Youth Endangered Plants Art and Culture Creation Competition is now open. It invites youngsters to immerse themselves in the surrounding nature, get to know endangered plants through observation and experience, and explore the stories behind the species.

Ultimately, winning entries will have the opportunity to be exhibited at the 2026 Shanghai International Flower Festival, and will also be displayed in public spaces, such as primary and secondary schools, for educational purposes.

The competition is open to all primary and junior high school students nationwide, divided into two groups.

It is divided into two major categories: art creation and literary creation, with separate evaluations for the two groups. Participants may submit entries for one or more categories, with a limit of one entry per category.

Entries must focus on threatened rare and endangered plant species and the associated changes in biodiversity, covering species classified as Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), and Critically Endangered (CR).

Paintings, art installations, sculptures, and handicrafts are all eligible for the art creation category, while for literary creation category, poetry, essays, non-fiction writing, novels, and reviews will be accepted.

During the competition registration period, two sessions of the "Plant Guardians" Nature Creation Camp will be held at the botanical garden. Meanwhile, online workshops featuring dialogues among endangered plant conservation experts, artists, and writers will be organized, helping to spur the public's interest in the competition and raise awareness about conservation.

Through the series of activities, the organizers seek to inspire more young people to participate in endangered plant conservation, encourage diverse artistic and literary expressions, and showcase the observations and reflections of young people on endangered plant species.

The deadline for submission is January 25.