GCCC  NEWS

    The opening ceremony of Gesneriad Conservation Center of China (Shanghai) was grandly held in Shanghai Botanical Garden. Mr. Stephen Maciejewski, Co-Chairperson of the Student Convention Grant Committee of the Gesneriad Society, and Co-Chairperson of the Conservation Committee of the Gesneriad Society, and Prof. Feng Shu-Cheng, Director of Shanghai Botanical Garden, jointly inaugurated the branch of GCCC, GCCC (Shanghai). GCCC (Shanghai) will act hand in hand with GCCC, GCCC (Guizhou), GCCC (Eastern China) and GCCC (Shenzhen) to dedicate towards one goal, to introduce, protect, conserve, display and Sci-popularize for Gesneriad plants of China, even around the world.

  The attending honored guests included Prof. Huang Shi-Xun (The Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangxi Institute of Botany, CAS), Mr/ Zhou Tai-Jiu (Vice Director of Guilin Botanical Garden, CAS, act on behalf of the Director of GLBG), Lady Lu Hong-Li (The Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Botanical Garden), Mr. Wu Hong, Mr. Bi Qing-Si, Mr. Ji Jian-Ming (Three are Vice Director of SHBG), Dr.Prof. Wen Fang (In charge of Gesneriad Conservation Center of China, GCCC), and so on. Lady Lu, Prof. Huang and Mr. Stephen Maciejewski delivered speeches respectively

    In this opening ceremony of GCCC (Shanghai), Mr. Stephen nMaciejewski, who represents the Gesneriad Society, U.S.A., Mr. Zhou Tai-Jiu, who is the Vice Director of GLBG and represents GXIB, and Mr. Wu Hong, who represents SHBG, signed a Memorandum of understanding on trilateral cooperation. We will collaborate to develop the conservation and researching on Gesneriads.

   The speech by Mr. Stephen Maciejewski in the opening ceremony of GCCC (Shanghai) is showed here.

         It is an honor to be here at the opening of the fourth branch of the GCCC. I want to thank Director Feng, Director Lu, Deputy Director Wu, Deputy Director Ji, Director of GXIB Huang, Deputy Director Zhou and my friend Mr. Qin for inviting me to be here.

    It’s exciting to see the growth and success of this Gesneriad conservation effort that had a very humble beginning.

    Let me give you a little background information, I first met the co-founder of the GCCC Professor Wei Yi-Gang in 2010 at the World Gesneriad Conference in Florida. We were all impressed by his massive 777 pages book, as he introduced us to many new plants.

    Wei graciously invited me to China and I visited for two weeks in 2011. He showed me countless rare plants, many of which he had discovered. It was the trip of the lifetime but I left with an anxious feeling, somewhat depressed because so many of the plants we saw were endangered and headed to extinction.

    I returned to the USA with the singular purpose to do something. I published an article and created a slideshow about the need to save Chinese Gesneriads.

    I also met with Board Members of the Gesneriad Society and convinced them that something had to be done.

    In 2012, Professor Wei Yi-Gang and staff attended the GS convention in Seattle, Washington, where we signed an MOU and provided a grant to help establish the world-first conservation center to save gesneriads from extinction.

    In 2013, I visited again, and lost track of how many gesneriads were growing in the recently established Hoop house.

    In 2014 I introduced the leadership and Board of Director members of the GS to the GCCC. All were impressed by the tremendous amount of work that had been accomplished in a short period of time.

    Conservation is all about education, and helping people understand its importance.

    We had additional group trips to find gesneriads in the wild of China, to encourage the importance of this work.

    Wei Yi-Gang, Wen Fang, Hong Xin and other staff and students have also attended a number of GS conventions in the USA.

    In 2017, we had two more group trips with Wen Fang and Hong Xin, discovering new species and building a stronger relationship between GS, GXIB and GCCC. Three new branches at Guizhou, Anhui and Shenzhen were also opened 2017. We continue to visit each other, review manuscripts, and support the exchange of students and researchers.

    Nothing happens over-night, but we have laid the basis for cooperation and growth at the GCCC and created a process. The opening of the fourth branch of the GCCC in Shanghai today, signifies our proven formula. 

          Thank  you!