Taohua (Peach Blossom) Island in Lianjiang, a county-level city in Zhanjiang, was rated as a Guangdong Provincial Environmental Education Base by the province's department of ecology and environment on June 2.

The island is located at the estuary of the Jiuzhou River. Covering an area of more than 140 mu (9.33 hectares), it is one of the resting places for migratory birds from the north migrating south every year.

Liang Yiyuan, a villager from Lianjiang, contracted the place and named it Taohua Island to build a habitat for migrant birds. After dozens of years of ecological environment construction, the island has been turned into an area of lush vegetation, becoming a widely known private migratory bird reserve.

"The title of the Guangdong Provincial Environmental Education Base is the full affirmation to the migratory bird reserve," said Liang, adding that he would further carry forward the spirit of bird protection and ecological environment construction.

Liang Yiyuan holds the "Guangdong Provincial Environmental Education Base" plaque for Taohua Island in Lianjiang, a county-level city in Zhanjiang. [Photo by Li Zhong/Zhanjiang Daily]