The Second Shenzhen (Luohu) Science Popularization Month kicked off with a launch ceremony at the Xianhu Botanic Garden Sept. 11.

Nearly 300 residents, young people and volunteers attended the ceremony, which was themed around the introduction of wild rice.

Zhang Yeping, vice-chair of the Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology, Guo Guilin, chairperson of the Luohu Association for Science and Technology, and Zhang Shouzhou, deputy director of the Xianhu Botanic

Garden took part in the ceremony along with others.

During the event, the public was encouraged to explore and learn about agricultural science through various activities and entertainment programs spreading across six areas, including the science popularization gallery, wild rice exhibition area, painting exhibition area, photography area, creative handcraft area, financial science popularization area and interactive experience area.

The activities are designed to promote ecological and environmental protection efforts, as well as water and farmland conservation and the traditional virtue of cherishing food.

In the science popularization gallery, 30 exhibition boards displayed information about wild rice cultivation and food security to raise the public’s awareness of ecological preservation.

Meanwhile, in the wild rice exhibition area, visitors got a firsthand look at various live plants such as wild rice, cultivated rice and sea rice.

In the painting exhibition area, a number of works about wild rice, chosen during an online contest, were exhibited. These works not only reflect the artists’ impression of rice but also serve as a meditation on food scarcity, mitigating food waste and the promise of a better life.

During Science Popularization Month, the Luohu Association for Science and Technology will also organize nearly 40 activities in neighborhoods, communities, science venues and relevant agencies.

Students from across Shenzhen will visit the city’s national gene bank and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ comprehensive experimental base in Shenzhen this month, according to plans for the month-long event.

The science popularization activity about wild rice will also go on tour, with stops at several primary schools throughout Shenzhen.