【推荐1】“I grew garlic for the first time as I didn’t want to throw it away. It grew roots in just seven days. It opened up a new world to me,” said Zhong Liu, a young illustrator living in Shenzhen. On the 5-square-meter balcony (阳台) of Zhong’s apartment, there is a mini-farm with lemons, tomatoes and eggplants.

Zhong’s lifestyle started when residents were required to work from home. Zhong is not alone. An increasing number of urban youth have picked up the hobby of growing vegetables on their balconies as working from home has changed their lives. Zhong has started sharing her journey on social media platforms this year, which has brought her more than 100, 000 followers.

In a chat group consisting of over 100 balcony green thumbs across the country, they share the growth of their vegetables, discussing which plants are more suitable for balcony planting and how to fertilize (施肥) crops. “Balcony gardening really heals the urban youth. We plant and look forward to the harvest, and experience the happiness.” Zhong said.

Chinese city managers are also seeking new methods to rebuild the relationship between urban residents and nature through vegetable gardens. The government of Guangzhou launched a vegetable garden project, providing seeds and farm tools at the minimum price as well as organizing agricultural experts to provide online Q&A for local residents, in an effort to encourage urban youth to get in touch with nature through balcony planting.

In cities, people need to get along with nature. They will be healed during the process of getting close to plants. Parent-child relationships can be strengthened by taking part in the activities together. Community gardening also promotes interpersonal communication, and makes neighborhoods harmonious.

【推荐2】Most people would be terrified of entering waters with crocodiles (鳄鱼), but not Sao Chan. Like others living in a jungle village, the 73-year-old farmer says the Siamese crocodiles found in the waterways may look ferocious, but they should not be treated with prejudice. “If we come close to them, they just run away,” Chan says.

He’s right. There have been extremely few reported attacks by Siamese crocodiles on humans in the world, and reportedly none anywhere in Cambodia. Instead, it’s the crocodiles that have every reason to fear people. Once common throughout Southeast Asia, the particularly shy Siamese crocodile, which can grow up to 10 feet long, was for decades hunted for its skin and meat to such an extent that, in the early 1990s, the species was thought to be extinct in the wild.

Some of them survived in the Cardamoms, however, where populations of the reptiles, likely numbering fewer than 200 individuals in total, were rediscovered in 2000. Since then, local people have conducted regular patrols (巡逻) to protect them from threats. While the patrols and other conservation efforts have helped prevent the extinction of the Siamese crocodiles, concerns about the species’ long-term survival have remained because population numbers have stayed largely flat since their rediscovery.

In 2022, conservationists have introduced more Siamese crocodiles into the wild than ever before, not just in the Cardamoms but for the first time into a wildlife reserve in the northern part of the country, where the crocodiles historically were found. Advances in genetic testing have identified crocodiles suitable for release, and satellite tracking of reintroduced crocodiles has improved protection efforts.

“We have a long way to go, but the potential comeback of the Siamese crocodile could be Cambodia’s most successful conservation story,” says Pablo Sinovas, who leads a nonprofit reintroducing the animals. “Its survival isn’t just an ecological necessity, but a symbolic matter of urgency if we have any hope of preserving nature on Earth.”

【推荐3】Here in the middle of London, something extraordinary is going on. You can hear a loud and unmistakable sound of bees doing what they do best: making honey.

What’s more, they’re performing their magic, not in the leafy acres of nearby park, but up on the balcony of St Ermin’s Hotel. Whereas most urban residences would do their best to keep sting-bearing insects as far away from guests as possible, this hotel opens its doors to the capital’s bees. The person who tends this “Bee Hotel” is Camilla Goddard. “In the long run, bees are amazing creatures to work with. You can’t help admiring the way they operate. They really do put the good of the community first,” she says.

As well as providing an enjoyable pastime, modern beekeeping is becoming increasingly critical. According to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), 70 different UK crops depend on bees for pollination (授粉). Without bees to provide pollination, one-third of all our food wouldn’t survive. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill was a firm supporter of bees and made sure they got extra supplies to carry on with their pollination work, even as the German army dropped their bombs.

“Bees are in danger of disappearing from our environment,” warns Tim Lovett of the BBKA. Today, bee numbers are down by 50 per cent. Using more and more land, agricultural industry reduces spots where bees can live. Crop-protecting pesticides have also led to high death rate of bees. Another blow was an Asian species that first arrived in Devon and then spread across the country. It settled on the bees and not only weakened their immune system but caused their wings to deform (变畸形) so that flying became impossible.

Anxious about the decline of beekeeping, the BBKA has produced a school information pack entitled “Bees in the Curriculum”. Once the children have been around bees for a while, they understand the service that bees provide for us, rather than seeing them as the source of stings.

【推荐1】On February 13, 2023, Wu Yibing made history, beating John Isner in a thrilling three-set final at the Dallas Open to become the first man from China to win an ATP title（ATP巡回赛冠军）.

Brought to a tennis court for the first time at just five, initially encouraged by his parents as an exercise to lose weight, Wu soon had his talent discovered by his provincial junior team, kicking off a journey that would change the fate of men's tennis in China. In 2017,Wu Yibing shot to prominence after winning the US Open boys’ tournament at 18 to become the first Chinese to win a major junior title, raising high hopes for the “Wonder Boy” to change the fortune of Chinese men in a sport long dominated by women's success on the professional stage.

In 2018, Wu won his first ATP Challenger title in Shanghai. However, the highly competitive nature of men’s professional tennis hit the rising Wu with a tough reminder after multiple injuries-to his elbow, lower back, shoulder and wrist-forced him to be away from the ATP Tour for close to three years.

He made his return last year and won three ATP Challenger titles before qualifying for the US Open. “Looking back, I feel like I wouldn't have been here if not for the ups and downs over the past few years. I take all the setbacks and struggles as a lesson that helps me mature mentally now,” said Wu.   “Of course there were a lot of doubts because I had surgery and the recovery wasn’t going well. The championship today was a payoff for all the hard work and everyone who’s supported me along the way.”

【推荐2】Alba Renai, an attractive digital influencer (网红) powered by artificial intelligence, has recently announced that she will be hosting a special section on Spain’s popular reality show “Survivor”.

Created in the fall of last year by Be a Lion, Alba Renai quickly became a superstar online, attracting over 10,000 fans. She is a beautiful young woman, but she is not actually real.

Most people started speaking highly of Alba about her looks, wishing her luck in her new position, and most likely not even realizing she was an AI-powered avatar (化身), and some expressed their concern about such digital avatars occupying human jobs. In Asia, for example, several countries have been experimenting with Al newscasters.

Be a Lion, the company that created and trained: Alba Renai, recently claimed that their avatar didn’t steal any human jobs. On the contrary, it actually created more jobs. A team of 32 people works directly on the Alba project, including Al experts, engineers, producers, filmmakers, and community managers. “Alba is a collaborative (协作的) work between humans and machines,” Luis Movilla, a director at Be a Lion, said. “Now humans must have certain skills to be able to operate technological advances. We have had to redevelop the educational plan of our own employees and in the labor market.”

Alba Renai is one of several virtual influencers to attract international attention in the last few months, alongside Aitana Lopez and Lexi Love, to name just a couple of the most popular ones, but there is an entire wave of AI-powered avatars being developed as a way to cut costs. They may not be mainstream yet, but with technology evolving at such a rapid pace, who knows where we’ll be in a couple of years?

【推荐3】More families than ever are taking “adventures”—long term trips where children learn on the road. Worldschooling (游学世界), adventuring, life-learning, whatever you call it, more parents are doing it.

Take Jo and Jamie Robins, who are into a four-month South America trip with their daughters. “We want to take some time to step back from life, the treadmill (枯燥无味的工作) of working hard to pay a mortgage (按揭贷款), not having enough time for family or to follow our interests , says Jo.

David and Debs Hurst’s three-month mission to visit their Facebook friends with their sons turned into a campervan(房车) trip across 13 countries. “To our minds, they are learning in a more interesting way,” says David.

Martina and Julian Tyrrell sold their house in Cambridge to sail off into the sunset on a yacht(游艇) with their daughters. Nearly two years on, they are now based by the Guadiana River on the border of Spain and Portugal while the girls go to a Spanish school and are wondering where the wind might take them next. “When people asked us how long we would be away, I jokingly said between six months and 60 years. The kids love the life and I’m not that concerned about school because we always said we would homeschool them. If they get to a point where they want to go to school, I won’t stand in their way,” says Martina.

The Department of Education takes a poor view of any time away from school. “Children must receive a suitable education. Even missing a week of school affects children’s attainment,” said a spokeswoman.

Most round-the-world family blogs praise the experience as life-changing in the best way possible. Lara Pennington-Ellis, a British single mum based in Barcelona who set off on a round-the-world trip with her eight-year-old son, is one exception. I’m loving our intense time together but I’m also missing my personal freedom and adult conversation. “Worldschooling sounds easygoing but it’s actually the hardest hour of the day, to work hard and do maths /Spanish /English /handwriting homework.” she says in one post.