Yampa Valley Crane Festival Flocks to China
Yampa Valley Crane Festival at China Festival |
In December 2019 the Yampa Valley Crane Festival was featured as part of the First Poyang Lake International Birdwatching Week that took place in the Jiangxi Province near Nanchang, China. Nancy Merrill, president of Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition (CCCC), presenter of the annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival, delivered one of the keynote talks at the Poyang Lake Birdwatching Festival and helped lead educational activities at the International Nature School (INS) at Poyang Lake.
Welcome Sign |
Festival Reception Desk |
Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China. It is an important wintering area for over a million water birds including four species of Asian cranes. More than 98% of the critically endangered Siberian Crane population spends the winter at Poyang Lake. This area has been a major focus of crane conservation work for the past 40 years by the International Crane Foundation (ICF) and many other conservation organizations.
Siberian Cranes feeding |
In January 2019, Nancy first visited Poyang Lake on an ICF trip to Asia. As a member of the ICF Board of Directors and also one of the organizers of the Yampa Valley Crane Festival, she and others met with Mr. Qiu Shuiwen, Director of Jiagnxi Provincial Forest and Grassland Department. Through a translator, Nancy pitched the idea of a bird festival as a way of bringing people together to raise awareness of the environment and to encourage bird and habitat conservation.
Nancy and Qui Shuiwen |
A few months later Nancy was thrilled to receive an invitation to attend the First International Poyang Lake Birdwatching Week as a guest of the Chinese government. The festival turned out to be a spectacular event. Over 800 scientists, academicians, government officials, dignitaries and representatives of many international conservation organizations attended the festival. Highlights of the festival included a formal VIP reception with the top government officials of Jiangxi Province followed by a banquet; the Opening Ceremony with singers, crane dancers, and a stadium-sized screen with magnificent images of cranes projected onto it; an International Forum on Poyang Lake Wetland Migratory Bird Protection; the Second International Siberian Crane Forum at which Nancy delivered her keynote talk about the Yampa Valley Crane Festival; and various bird watching activities around Poyang Lake.
Opening Ceremony |
No expense was spared in putting on the festival which was sponsored by the provincial government of Jiangxi with help from several Chinese businesses and various international conservation organizations including ICF. The festival clearly represented a statement of commitment by the Chinese government to protect the cranes, birds and wetland habitat of the Poyang Lake area.
President Xi |
Nancy’s talk and slide presentation during the festival focused on the Rocky Mountain population of Greater Sandhill Cranes in Colorado and the ways in which the Yampa Valley Crane Festival helps to promote crane conservation through education and awareness. Nancy was helped with the preparation of her presentation by CCCC board member and local wildlife photographer, Abby Jensen. Many of Abby’s beautiful crane photos were featured in the presentation.
Yampa Valley Crane Festival Talk |
The slides were sent ahead so that Chinese could be added to the English text. The talk itself was given in English with consecutive Chinese translation. The audience of about 200 was enthusiastic in its response. All printed materials about the Yampa Valley Crane Festival and the Yampa Valley that Nancy provided – programs, posters, brochures, and small photo books- were snapped up. Although no formal question and answer period was scheduled following the talk, many audience members sought her out after the symposium and asked questions or thanked her for the presentation.
Following the Talk |
Nancy was interviewed both by Chinese television and by the Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspaper about her impressions of the bird festival and about the work being done in China, the Yampa Valley, and around the world to protect cranes. In her interview Nancy emphasized that the festival model not only benefits crane conservation but is in line with the establishment of the “Ecological Civilization” which has been put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping as one of the top priorities of the Chinese government. She was told that her newspaper interview would be included in a special half edition dedicated to the Poyang Lake International Birdwatching Week that would be sent to top government leaders in China.
Click here to view a portion of the television interview.
Following the festival Nancy spent two days near the small village of Nanji where the International Nature School took place. The International Nature School (INS) is an environmental education project for children living around the wetland areas of the Siberian Crane migration route. Developed by ICF and various partner organizations, the INS helps children understand, experience and appreciate the ecology of their area and encourages them to protect it.
Poyang Lake Wetland |
International Nature School (INS) class |
In the morning Nancy’s role was to help with activities taking place at the Nanji Wetland Center located near Poyang Lake. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students from Nanji Grammar School participated in three different groups at the wetland :
Nanji Wetland Center |
Bird Group– learning about common birds in the Poyang Lake Wetland and the use of binoculars and spotting scope to observe birds.
INS Bird Group |
Plant Group – understanding the common plants in the Poyang Lake Wetland and developing a basic knowledge of plants and how to observe them.
Wetland Group – Learning what constitutes a wetland, the types and functions of wetlands, and the relationship between wetlands, plants, animals and people.
In the afternoon the nature activities moved from the Nanji Wetland Center to the local grammar school. There, these same students rotated through three additional classes:
Team Painting – drawing a wetland scene based on their morning observations at the Nanji Wetland Center.
Team Painting Project |
Handicrafts –making a personal nature creation such as a small wooden pendant with a painted bird.
Crane Dance– learning a dance involving authentic crane movements and behaviors.
When she was invited to participate in the festival and the INS, Nancy had been asked to prepare a crane dance to teach to the Chinese students. Nancy sought the assistance of Steamboat Springs local, Sarah Blakeslee, who for the past several years has choreographed the crane dance for the CCCC entry into the Steamboat Springs 4th of July Parade.
Crane Dancers – 4th of July Parade |
For music Sarah and Nancy chose the song, “Do the Bird”, a typical American dance song from the 1960’s. Liza Rossi of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) helped transfer the song onto a battery-operated “caller” that is used for bird surveys and that Nancy could take to China. Libbie Miller, also of CPW, provided materials for educational activities that could be used with the students at the INS.
Nancy sent photos of the Sandhill Crane hats worn by our 4th of July dancers to Liu Tao, the Environmental Education Officer who was coordinating the activities for the INS. Tao commissioned volunteers at Nanchang University to create similar Siberian Crane hats for students to wear as they performed the dance.
Siberian Crane Hat |
The Chinese students loved the crane hats and the crane dance and quickly caught on to the various moves. They learned to flap their “wings,” jump, hop, pirouette, bow, and shake their “tail feathers” just like real cranes. Nancy thoroughly enjoyed working with the students –helping them celebrate cranes and learn about crane behavior through the medium of dance.
Getting Ready to Dance |
Trying on the crane hats |
At the end of a very full and productive day of learning and fun, Nancy and the other teachers, several of whom were from Inner Mongolia, handed out official certificates of achievement from the INS to all the students. These INS activities appeared to instill in these students both a love of nature and a sense of pride in their hometown area. Hopefully, these young Chinese students will become the crane, bird, and wetland conservationists of tomorrow.
INS Certificate |
Future Conservationists |
The Poyang Lake First International Birdwatching Week and the International Nature School exemplify how cranes manage to bridge the gulf that often separates nations such as China and the U.S. Everyone can come together to celebrate and protect cranes. The Yampa Valley Crane Festival and Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition are proud to have played a small part in this recent celebration of cranes and their habitat in China.
Festival Theme |