April 22nd is Earth Day. Some folks like to plant a tree for Earth Day. Recently, two trees were planted in the White-headed Langur Protection Organization in Guangxi Province, China.
One with my name on it (in recognition of a financial contribution that I made) and the other planted in the memory of my mother, Florence Winslow. You can read all about this project that was established by my friend Dr. Katherine Feng in my April, 2015 blog posts.
According to Wikipedia, White-headed Langurs are a critically endangered species and are among the rarest primates in the World. They are possibly the rarest primate in Asia with a population estimated at less than 70 individuals.
The trees that were planted were Red Cotton Trees which are famous in Guangxi Province. They are beautiful trees with large red flowers that appear before the leaves. The Langurs like to eat the petals of the flowers in the Spring and the leaves in the Summer.
It is interesting to note that my mother’s tree was planted during the Qingming Holiday. Qingming translates into the Tomb Sweeping Day and is a day that the people visit their ancestor’s/parents tomb to honor them and to clean their graves. I believe that my mother would be very pleased and honored to have a tree planted during this holiday period. She would also be very pleased to know that the flowers and leaves of her tree will help nourish a critically endangered species.
My wife, Marilyn Leftwich and my sisters Phyllis Winslow and Barbara Griffith have also helped to contribute money toward the planting of these trees.
Adventures, Animals and Images 