【推荐1】“The number of sightings has fallen during lockdown, although pigeons are increasing”, reports Mark Bridge, an editor of BBC Gardeners World Magazine. He notes that sightings of some of Britain’s best-loved garden birds have fallen, blaming the reduction on fewer hedges (篱) and over “tidy” gardening.

The annual review by BBC Gardeners World Magazine found that blackbirds, house sparrows, blue tits (蓝山雀) were spotted less often than in previous years. Sightings of blackbirds were reported by only 85 percent of interviewees last year, down from 90 percent in 2018. The number of interviewees reporting sightings of house sparrows fell from 79 percent to 75 percent in the same period, with a similar decline from 80 percent to 75 percent for blue tits.

Lucy Hall, the magazine chief editor, said, “while watching wildlife has been a great distraction from the pandemic, this decline in common UK bird species is a huge concern.” Hall said that reasons for the decline included the reduction of hedges as people smartened their living surroundings. “More hedges are coming down,” she said. “People are also transforming front gardens for parking. So the sorts of habitats we’ve provided... are being ripped out.”

“As an old Chinese saying goes, when the water is too clear, there are no fish. ‘Birds’ need as lightly messy space,” she said. “They need leaf litter, a bit of rotting wood at the back of a hedge. If you haven’t got a caterpillar, the blue tit has nothing to feed on. The good news is we can all do something to help make a big difference whether it’s filing bird feeders or installing bug boxes and log (原木) piles.”

While some species were in decline, others appeared to be going well. The number of interviewees seeing feral pigeons was up by eight percentage points to 59 percent since 2018. Common gulls were also up, while robins were the birds seen by the greatest number of interviewees at 91 percent.

【推荐2】According to statistics, 358bee species live in the Netherlands, but more than half of them are part of the Dutch red list — a catalog listing endangered species. To support the insects, the city of Utrecht Council, together with advertising agency Clear Channel, has transformed 316 bus stops across the city into “bee bus stops”. They are like ordinary bus shelters, but small gardens have been added to the roofs. The gardens are filled with grass and wildflowers chosen to attract bees.

The city authorities put the project out to tender (投标). In the tender, they outlined the requirements and encouraged applicants to develop a nature-inclusive design that offers ecological benefits to the city. Finally, they signed an agreement with Clear Channel, who won the tender and setup 316 bus shelters. The project didn’t cost the city government anything. The operators are responsible for the upkeep of the stops citywide, using income from advertising.

The bus shelters have brought about great changes in the city. Green roofs catch fine dust, store rainwater and provide cooling in the heat. They also ensure biodiversity in the city. There are also 96 bus stops fitted out with LED lighting and bamboo benches. The base plate is also made from recycled concrete. The advantages of the bus stops have not gone unnoticed by the media. But what particularly has caught the media’s attention is that these eco-friendly shelters make people happy and enthusiastic, and encourage them to do something for nature.

This unique Dutch city even has a program for residents who can transform their own roofs into green roofs for bees. Residents interested in this can apply for government allowances. Click here for more information and details.

【推荐3】Navigating (导航) in China is easy and convenient — if you can read Chinese. Baidu and Alibaba offer fully featured map apps with detailed information, but foreigners have little access (通道；机会) to it.

“As a foreigner who can’t read Chinese characters, I noticed there was this hole,” said Jason Stine, a software engineer from the US, in an interview with the Charming China podcast. To fill that hole, he created his own app, called Lost Laowai.

Stine, 31, has lived in cities around China for seven years. He says people who can’t read Chinese are “a drop in the bucket (沧海一粟)” for companies like Tencent and Alibaba. There aren’t enough of these people for English versions of their apps to make economic sense. So Stine made one himself. “It’s essentially a translation of Alibaba Maps,” he said.

“The idea was to put everything into three forms. Chinese characters, pinyin...and then the English translation.” Also useful, it gives directions for city buses, one of the most difficult things for foreigners in China.

Although the app is useful, Stine says that it looks a bit “amateur (业余的)”. “I don’t have an app development background,” he adds, “I am self-taught.”

Stine has a full-time job with a Hong Kong company, so Lost Laowai is a weekend project. He depends on his user community, a WeChat group where users can report bugs and request features.

These lost laowais may be there to report bugs, but they are enthusiastic users of the app. “As someone actively trying to learn Mandarin, I...like the way the address is showed: Chinese characters, Pinyin, and English,” said Kevin Mulligan, a South African living in Shenzhen.

Lisa Schooling, from the US, has used the app in Suzhou and says it gives her a sense of safety. “I just like the feel that no matter where I am, I can check the app and gain a sense of direction,” said Schooling.