观鸟为何？ Why Do We Watch Bird?

•  到哪儿观鸟？ Where to go?

拉市海位于丽江县西部拉市坝子内，海拔高度为 2500 米。拉市海及其周围湿地是滇西北 57 种越冬候鸟重要的栖息地之一。云南省于 1998 年 6 月将拉市海确定为省级自然保护区。从那时起，鸟类种群和数目不断增加，据 2001 年一份统计显示，各种越冬的鸟类总数已达 10 万只多。拉市海及其湿地四面环山，湖面北侧的玉龙雪山海拔为 5596 米，是一个典型的高山植被库。观鸟活动的时间定为 3 天，从 2003 年 2 月 12 日开始至 14 日止。

Lashihai Lake is located in Lashihai Plateau to the west of Lijiang County , capital city of Lijiang Prefecture in Yunnan Province . With an elevation of 2,500 meters above sea level, the lake and wetland around is an ideal habitat for aquatic birds of about 57 kinds of species during every winter. The areas around the lake and wetland were designated as a plateau's wetland nature reserve in 1998, the first of its kind in Yunnan Province . Since then, bird species have gradually increased and their numbers, according to local record in 2001, were almost up to 100,000. Thus the lake is considered as a bird watching attraction for tourists far and near. There are mountains around next to the Nature Reserve. The highest one is Yulong Snow Mountain to the north of the lake, with an elevation of 5,596 meters, which is rich and unique for its high alpine flora. The bird watching activity took place for three days, starting from 12 through 14 February, 2003 in the Nature Reserve.

•  也是一种学习方式？ A granted classroom?

如今，全社会十分关注孩子的素质教育问题，积极鼓励孩子利用假期走进自然、学习自然、关注环境保护。丽江拉市海高原湿地自然保护区观鸟活动是促进可持续发展行动计划项目的一次尝试。这个活动组织了 31 名小学二年级至初一的昆明学生前往拉市海，与当地农村的同学同吃、同住，共同生活了三天。他们把这期间观看到的鸟儿和对湿地的感受用日记、绘画和摄影的形式表现出来，收获颇丰。从他们稚嫩的作品中已经能够感受到孩子对鸟儿的一份关怀和对环境保护的理解。

Our society concerns very much on morality education for school pupils. Children are being encouraged to walk out of campus during holidays to learn nature and protect its environment. Bird watching activity conducted in Lashihai Plateau's Wetland Nature Reserve is one of the pilots that PSDAP implements. It had provided 31 Kunming pupils between Grade 2 and Grade 7 an opportunity to stay with their village counterparts in the village for three days. They had talk with each other and ate, slept together. They took notes, photos and drew pictures about the wetlands and birds they saw. Great progress has been made for children for their articles and photos reveal their delicate understandings of wildlife protection and nature reserve.

•  收获和意义 A harvest

学校里通常鼓励孩子们要树立长远目标，这种校园内的素质教育方式有时过于抽象。事实上，在这次的观鸟活动中，孩子们能够积极地面对诸如环境保护、野生动物保护、助贫等“大”社会问题，他们直面批评那些忽视环保污染湿地的行为，他们为人类的好朋友鸟儿进行辩护，呼吁人们还给鸟儿一个干净的家。

Usually, Chinese children are taught “Shu li chang yuan mu biao” (meaning to set up a long-term goal) in schools. But this in-school morality education somehow is vague in vision. As a matter of fact, children face issues like environment and wildlife protection, poverty alleviation positively this time. Activity like that seems help them changing character and thinking imperceptibly with sustainable development concept. They criticized the ignorance of people who polluted the wetlands. They argued that the birds are good friends of human beings and therefore they should return them a clean home.

这些发自童心的呼声虽小，但人们已经开始感觉到他们的力量。

The pupils' voice may not be that loud, but from that one can feel the strength of it.