Introduction to GEPC

Founded in 1998, Greenhome Environmental Protection Center (GEPC) is a registered non-profit NGO, dedicated to environmental protection and monitoring.

Among the volunteers and staff GEPC currently has there are not onlyscholars, entrepreneurs and senior administrative or managerial personnel, but also ordinary people and a great many youth volunteers, including collegestudents. GEPC is open to anyone who volunteers to join us to work for a greener future.

GEPC’sMission is to popularize green civilization, and to promote sustainable development for all humankind.

As a bridge for the caring society and the disadvantaged，GEPC Focuses on raising the public environmental awareness. It advocates self-reliance within the public to make informed choices and to take action to manage a good future in which nature and human beings coexist in harmony.

For many years, GEPC has been proactively promoting the work orientation of “involving poor people in environmental construction.” This has received wide support and participation from the public. With the participation of thousands of volunteers and their families, and the support of government and NGOs, campaigns and experimental projects held by GEPC have already changed and influenced the perception and behavior of tens of thousands of urban and rural people concerning ecological and environmental protection.

"Devotional, innovative and paying attention to real results" is our working principle. Looking forward to the future, GEPC will take part in more projects commonly concerned by environmental NGOs, and play a more active role in community growth. Utilizing volunteers’ specialties in ecological tours, translation and publication, as well as other areas, GEPC will develop public environmental education in various forms. By organizing city volunteers to give lectures on ecological and environmental protection, as well as eco-agriculture technologyin environmentally deteriorating areas，GEPC will continue to promote the project of “involving poor people in environmental construction”, and intensify its efforts to search for effective solutions that will promote sustainable development in the poverty-stricken regions.

Greenhome Environmental ProtectionCenter

(National organization registration code: 78395377-1；Registration number for NGOs: 京海民证字0730362）

Add： No.1 Zhongguancun Nandajie,Haidian District，Beijing China Room 2125,Building 2 Friendship Hotel

Postcode：100873

Tel：010-68498388Fax：010-68415641

http//：www.greenhome.org.cn www.greenhome.net.cn

Email：postmaster@greenhome.net.cn

History of GEPC

1998:

In order to improve the ecological environment of the northwest part of the outer Great Wall in Beijing, the founder of GEPC donated money to plant trees and publicized the concept of ecological and environmental protection in XuanHuaCounty in Zhang Jiakou area.

1999:

GEPC expanded its area of tree planting and introduced high grade anti-drought tree seeds and techniques. Cooperating with local government, it started ecological and environmental publicity directly to local people.

GEPC called on Beijing volunteers and the pubic to arouse people’s attention to the significance of ecological barrier in the semi-arid zones in Northwest Beijing.

GEPC set up its own website to better publicize the concept of ecological protection by means of the internet, while collecting information.

2000:

Launching the campaign of “I plant trees for the new century”, GEPC organized volunteers from China and abroad to plant trees in Zhang Jiakou area and invited celebrities from all walks of life to plant trees near the foot of the outer Great Wall. The campaign greatly encouraged local government and individuals to improve their own environment. It slso altered Beijing’s attention to the construction of the ecological barrier in northwest Beijing as well as the protection of the outer Great Wall. From this campaign, the local government and the people in Zhang Jiakou have receiveda better understanding of the importance of ecological and environmental protection.

Recommended by GEPC, Li Rong became the first Chinese farmer to win an international award for environmental protection.

2001:

Trough countless communications with local government, GEPC promoted the “Li Rong effect” in the greater Xuan Huaand Zhang Jiakou area,this has made tree planting and environmental protection a fashion in local area.

Based on website construction, GEPC actively participated in communication and interaction between environmental protection NGOs, and patrons or sponsored young volunteer campaigns concerning ecological and environmental protection.

In order to extend education on ecological and environmental protection to more people, GEPC took the lead in carrying out the “tree planting tour”.The tour has gained wide popularity since it began, due to its entertaining form of education. Today it has become a trend among Beijing citizens individually to plant trees in spring. In this way, every year tens of thousands of people, including children, are receiving diversified education on ecological and environmental protection.

2002:

To extend the successful experience in experiment regions, and to better stimulate the poor to take part in environmental protection, GEPCexperiment in establishing an environmental protection award for model village. .

GEPC initiated “Grow with Green”, an environmental campaign providing financial aid for poor children. The campaign integratedenvironmental education for the poor with the support for poor students.It also combined citizendonations with farmer responsibility in environmental greening. In this way, it received double return for half the investment.

GEPC launched a campaign in JingJingCounty in He Bei province,bringing together city and country authorities to plant forest and share its property rights.

Farmer Tian Fuqing from He Bei province, recommended by GEPC, won the second prize awarded for Ford environmental protection.

2003:

With its originality, credibility, and feasibility, the “Grow with Green” campaign, in which some big domestic enterprises started taking part, aroused social concern. With its operating process maturing, the campaign became an important approach to solving the problem of poor student schooling in experiment regions.

2004:

Taking advantage of the fact that most volunteers have a background in the tourist trade, GEPC actively discussed with relevant departments the launching of ecological tours. These tours are beneficial for ecological and environmental protection, as well as helping and supporting disadvantaged people.

Understanding and participating in a wide range of themes of common concern in the environmental protection community, GEPC also established interactive relationships with other environmental protection organizations in order to perform a more active role as one of the community members.

2005:

GEPC started its second experiment region in ChongLiCounty in Zhang Jiakou. Through training and tutoring, it has allowed local pioneers in ecological and environmental protection to manage “Grow with Green” and other campaigns, and to learn how to launch projects themselves.

The “Grow with Green” campaign has provided financial aid for poor students, with the number of families benefiting reaching 120 and averaging 260 students per year.