"Earthwalker" starts Earth Day Friendship walk in Beijing

Paul Coleman (C), the environmental activist dubbed as "Earthwalker" and his wife Konomi Kikuchi (R), accompanied by dozens of volunteers, kicked off "Earth Day Friendship" walk in Beijing on Sunday Morning.

Paul Coleman, the environmental activist dubbed "Earthwalker" kicked off his "Earth Day Friendship" walk in Beijing on Sunday Morning.

Accompanied by dozens of volunteers, Paul Coleman will walk towards Tianjin, a port city about 120 kilometers southeast of Beijing, where he is to take ferry to Republic of Korea, his next destination.

Paul Coleman, the man who "only works for the earth"

According to Mr. Coleman, the destructions of the Amazon rain forests in 1989 turned him to dedicate to the mission of environment preservation.

In that year, Paul Coleman, a native of Manchester, quit his job as a chauffer and made up his mind that he would "only work for the earth". He began his walk in 1990 to promote environment preservation and peace. Up till now he has walked through 38 countries and regions.

In Mexico, people gave Coleman trees to plant, which bestowed on him the idea to plant trees along his way, and thereafter he decided to plant trees wherever he walked. From then on, a total of six million trees have been planted by him, or by people influenced by his walk.

"People's support keeps me walking"

Paul Coleman (C) and his wife Konomi Kikuchi receive gifts from Yang Yang (L), a university student in Beijing who offered help to Coleman in Fangshan, southwest suburb of Beijing before the walk.

In the 42,490 kilometers Mr. Coleman has walked, he did not have any funds. Often he was "going hungry a lot" without a penny in his pocket. But people en route would give him free foods, free coffee, or let him live in their houses. It is the people's support that keeps Mr. Coleman walking. But on the other hand, the walk also gives him opportunities to meet and communicate with different people, and to experience a great variety of customs and life styles, which makes his journey full of fun.

Power of the people

Mr. Coleman stressed the role of individuals in environmental preservation in the interview with PD Online. In his opinion, government plays a paramount role in regard of environment preservation, but the mission will come down to individuals finally. "Smallest people get together can change the face of the nation", he explained.

It is everybody's responsibility to care for the environment. If individuals join arms with government, non-governmental organizations, progresses will be made definitely. He wishes his walk can have some influence on people, making them get better at understanding about environmental problems, and take actions, for example "picking up garbage".

It turns out his efforts do work. In Fangshan District, southwest suburb of Beijing, he met an old uncle who had no idea what Coleman walked for. But after Coleman explained to him, the uncle understood his behavior and thought that was great.

Yang Yang, a university student in Beijing who volunteered to walk with Paul Coleman, said Coleman's walk "very meaningful because it will exert influence on the Chinese people."

China can set a great example

During the interview, Mr. Coleman hailed the notion of "green Olympics". He said China is the first one to talk about "green Olympics". If China succeeds, other countries will follow suit. And the Chinese people's awareness for environmental protection is increasing a lot. He is confident that China can set a great example in terms of environment preservation.

Paul Coleman's website www.earthwalker.com

By People's Daily Online