From one tree, to over 8 million trees; from vast deserts, to tens of thousands of oases.
On October 15th, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced in Rome, Italy, that Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese sand control expert and national model worker, was selected as one of the “100 Female Heroes in the Agricultural Food System and Rural Development”.
It is worth mentioning that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations had previously announced 99 candidates. Yin Yuzhen was officially recognized as the last winner at the award ceremony on that day.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Yin Yuzhen has been planting trees in the Maowusu sand land in China for decades. She has led efforts to restore nearly 5,000 hectares of land around her hometown, planting over 8 million trees in total. Her contributions have helped with the restoration of the local ecosystem, agricultural development, and the improvement of residents' livelihoods.
Yin Yuzhen's story began in 1986.
In those years, she planted the first tree in the Maowusu sandland. Over the following 40 years, she and her family, along with the villagers, fought against the wind and sand, gradually turning over more than 70,000 acres of sandland into green areas.
The path to desert control is not a solitary struggle. In 1999, a American friend teaching in China, Saecous, was moved by her efforts and raised $5,000 to support tree planting. Yin Yuzhen used this money to purchase over 50,000 saplings, and today these saplings have grown into lush forests.
On October 15th, at the award ceremony in Rome, Saecus also came to the audience, witnessing this old friend receiving international recognition and being moved to tears.
Facing this honor, Yin Yuzhen said that as a farmer, she was very happy and proud to be able to receive the award on the stage of the United Nations. However, this award does not belong to her alone, but to thousands of people who love the Earth.
"Just looking ahead, we can brighten the world, making nature more blue, the land greener, and the water clearer," she said.
After the news of Yin Yuzhen's award spread, a highly praised comment read: "She is the real environmentalist girl."
This evaluation resonates because Yin Yuzhen has been planting trees and combating desertification since her days as a teenager, dedicating the best 40 years of her life to the Mao Wu Su desert.
From youth to age when hair turns gray, she uses saplings to transform the vast yellow desert into a green homeland.
Speaking of the future, Yin Yuzhen still has her eyes on combating desertification.
"I want to work hard like a Mongolian horse, moving forward with determination. We need to get started and run, do our own jobs well, and give back to nature in the best way possible."
