Summer Spent Preserving Pandas

“In the summer of 2018, I had the honor to be a part of the panda preservation project— for a week the other volunteers and I were placed on a mountain where the pandas live. Everyday we cleaned their shelters by sweeping away the old bamboo shoots and the panda droppings and prepared new bamboo shoots for them. We would also make panda cakes, protein bars for pandas, since there’s only little nutrition in bamboo. I had the opportunity to feed XiXi, a mother of two. She was a very aggressive eater and would not share food with anyone, not even her dearest children. Other times, I would consult with the project leaders just to learn more about pandas in general. Overall it was a rewarding experience. Never in my life have I felt the existence of pandas so closely. More importantly, I was doing something for the world I live in, and that’s all it matters.”