HSS Students Participate in Earth Week Field Trip to Organic Farm

Marking its official induction into XJTLU, the recently established HSS Sustainability Club took an active part in Earth Week 2026 (Monday, April 19th – Sunday, April 26th), which featured over fifteen events focused on environmental protection and climate action.

On Tuesday, the Sustainability Club received a plot of land in the Outdoor Research and Teaching Space (ORTS) next to the Emerging and Interdisciplinary Science Building (ES) on XJTLU’s South Campus. Here, the students will participate in planting a variety of species with the intention of sparking discussions about human-nature relations across differing academic disciplines.

On Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22nd) fourteen students took part in the club’s first field trip to the Yuefengdao Ecological Station (悦丰岛生态站) in Kunshan. Despite the rain, the excursion offered the students from HSS, IBSS and the Academy of Film and Creative Technology firsthand exposure to sustainable agriculture practices in the Yangtze River Delta.

The afternoon began with a guided tour of the farm's organic crop fields, where students learned about seasonal planting of the huge variety of rice, wheat, bean and corn species that are preserved and shared in Yuefengdao’s seed bank. In the fields, students saw seasonal fruits like Loquat (琵琶) and were introduced to the project’s alternative conceptions to crop rotation systems, chemical-free pest management and the maintenance of soil health. The trip concluded with a group discussion reflecting on the challenges and rewards of organic farming in the local context. For the HSS Sustainability Club, the field trip marked a successful launch of their experiential learning initiative, with plans to organize similar outings in the next semester.

“It was an important reflection on sustainable practices. A reflection on actual sustainable growth of renewable resources and metaphorical growth of knowledge and growth of children into people who worry, and will continue worrying, about the cultivation of a better future.

Pedro Bravo Bonfim, Third-year,

BA English Studies

“This event was very informative; I gained a lot of firsthand knowledge about breeding and agricultural production, and my understanding of sustainable development has become much clearer and more concrete.

这次活动非常有收获，了解到了很多关于育种和农业生产方面的一手信息，对于可持续发展的理解也更加具体清晰了。

Yinuo Li (李一诺), Second-year,

BA International Relations

“It was a very memorable experience that we can acquire agricultural knowledge while having fun with friends in the fresh nature. Hope there will be more activities like this in the future!

Chuqiao Sun孙楚乔, Second-year,

BA International Relations

“It was a super interesting activity. It gave me a chance to get close to nature during my studies.

 Zichang Gou 勾子畅, Second-year, BA International Relations

On Sunday, April 26th, the Sustainability Club participated in a campus gardening workshop co-organized by XJTLU, Duke Kunshan University and NYU Shanghai. XJTLU students had the opportunity to share their plans for the club in a discussion session with the other institutions’ sustainability club initiatives. Afterwards, they had fun building an “insect hotel” for the ORTS plot, and received a guided tour of the “Sunset” Community Garden in the EB building on Central Campus, which is open to the XJTLU community.

Contributed by the Department of International Studies