2026年7月17日-24日，内蒙古生态调查紧接着夏季林地调查接续召开。如果说上一周的林地调查工作着眼于地上部分，这一周的工作则着眼于地面——生态调查的主要工作就是调查样方内地表植物的种类和数量，统计植被结构等。在短短的数天内，5位志愿者与百万植树计划工作人员共计调查6块林地，42样点，统计到植物53种11398株。
From July 17 to 24, 2026, the Inner Mongolia Forest Ecological Survey was conducted immediately after the summer forest survey. While the previous week focused on trees above the ground, this week turned its focus to the ground itself. The main task was to count plant species and numbers on the ground and check the overall vegetation structure. In just a few days, five volunteers and Million Tree Project (MTP) staff surveyed 6 forest plots and 42 sample sites, recording 11,398 plants across 53 species.
志愿者行走在林地树行之中，郭珈源摄
Walking through the forest. Photo by Jiayuan Guo
与上一周的清凉天气完全不同，将近一周的晴天让调查在酷暑种进行。艰难的沙地徒步与烈日共同考验着志愿者的体力，到达调查样点后，植物辨识工作和统计工作则考验着脑力和耐力。每天的工作周而复始，志愿者从野外调查入门到渐渐深刻体会到其中的不易。
In stark contrast to the cool weather of the previous week, this week was hot and sunny. Walking across loose sandy terrain under the blazing sun tested the volunteers’ physical endurance; upon reaching each sample site, plant identification and counting challenged their mental focus and patience. By doing this work day after day, volunteers quickly learned how tough field surveys really are.
林地生态调查航拍，王凯摄
Aerial view of the survey site. Photo by Kai Wang
志愿者在统计林地中的植物，郭珈源摄
Volunteers counting plants in the forest. Photo by Jiayuan Guo
当然志愿者也能“苦中作乐”，或许是长途跋涉后与一朵艳丽花朵的不期而遇，或许是半天劳累之后躺在草场之上感受这里的风吹云动。这些自然的馈赠也正是持续数年、数十年植树造林的成果。
Even so, volunteers found simple joys in their work. They saw bright wildflowers after long walks, or lay on the grass to feel the breeze and watch clouds drift by. These moments are the rewarding results of many years of tree planting.
二色补血草，郭珈源摄
Limonium bicolor (Bunge) Kuntze. Photo by Jiayuan Guo
志愿者在林地旁的草场上漫步，郭珈源摄
Volunteers strolling on the grassland beside the forest. Photo by Jiayuan Guo
“防风治沙、治理土地荒漠化——这些原本都是书本上的概念。我学过它们的相关知识点、知道它们的意义，却没有真正理解过它们意味着什么。但在内蒙，这些抽象的词语不仅化作真实的树林，更重要的是，我看到了那群站在林子后的人。
"Sand control and land restoration used to be just words in textbooks for me. I knew what they meant, but I didn't truly understand them. In Inner Mongolia, those words became real, living trees. More importantly, I saw the people behind the forest.
有的树苗种下去后当年就死了，需要第二年补种，第三年再补种。因此，一片林子从种下到真正活下来，可能需要经历好几年的反复尝试。而那些活下来的树，也不是种下去就不用管了，需要监测生长情况，记录林下植被的生物多样性。
Some saplings die in the first year, so people have to replant them in the second and third years. It takes years of trying for a forest to survive. Even after trees are established, we still need to track their growth and check the diversity of ground plants.
我们去到的都是五年、十年前种下的树林。在植被的覆盖下，隐约还能分辨出这里曾经是荒芜的沙丘。这让我看到了环保工作的周期其实很长。在这个快节奏的时代，植树造林无法用日月来衡量，它需要的可能是十几年、几代人的坚守。或许造林的人都无法见证沙地彻底变成绿洲。
The trees we visited were planted 5 to 10 years ago. Under the green leaves, you can still tell it used to be empty sand dunes. This made me realize that environmental protection takes a long time—not months, but decades or generations. People who plant trees today might not even live to see the sand fully turn into an oasis.
百万植树计划林地一角，刘斯如摄
A corner of the Million Tree Project forest. Photo by Siru Liu
一位志愿者说了一句令我印象深刻的话，“这里的志愿者、工作人员，眼里都是有光的”。
在活动结束后，我懂了“眼里有光”是什么意思。就是看到凯哥说起这片林子的时候，他的眼神；看到老师们蹲在地上教我们辨认植物的时候，他们的专注；看到同行志愿者们顶着太阳做样方调查的时候，他们笑的样子。
Another volunteer said something I won't forget: 'The volunteers and staff here all have a spark in their eyes.' By the end of the trip, I understood what that meant. I saw it in Kai's eyes when he talked about the forest, in the staff crouching down to teach us about plants, and in the volunteers smiling while working in the hot sun.
志愿者在俯身数草，王凯摄
Volunteers bending down to count plants. Photo by Kai Wang
因为眼里有光，所以才愿意埋下希望的种子，不惧漫长地等待它萌发。”
Because of that spark, they are willing to plant seeds of hope and wait patiently for them to grow."
——志愿者 王优然
Youran Wang, MTP Volunteer
从入眼皆黄沙的荒芜到生机盎然的绿色森林，这背后是无数人的默默付出，也感谢所有志愿者的热情相助！
Turning yellow sand into a green forest takes hard work from many people. Thank you to all the volunteers for your help and support!
志愿者合影，王凯摄
The group photo. Photo by Kai Wang