The elderly play an irreplaceable role in ecological heritage preservation. The village elders unreservedly pass on their lifelong accumulated traditional ecological wisdom to the next generation. In the ancient ancestral hall, elders gather to tell young people how they used natural laws for agricultural production and how they protected water sources and forests. They also teach ancient handicrafts, such as traditional bamboo weaving. An elderly bamboo weaver patiently teaches young people how to weave bamboo baskets, hampers, and other daily necessities. These bamboo handicrafts are not only practical but also imbued with profound cultural connotations. In intergenerational cooperation, young, middle-aged, and elderly people complement each other perfectly. In the village's ecological park construction project, the elders provided traditional ideas for garden layout, the middle-aged were responsible for organizing construction and coordinating resources, and the young used modern technology for landscape design and promotion. Lin Yue and Chen Yu, witnessing this harmonious intergenerational cooperation, deeply felt the village's growing cohesion. Lin Yue exclaimed, "This kind of inheritance and cooperation is the most solid foundation for the village's development." Chen Yu said, "We must maintain it well and let it continue."
Throughout its ecological development, the village has consistently prioritized social equity. It ensures the equitable allocation of ecotourism jobs, giving every able-bodied villager the opportunity to participate. One disabled villager, who previously relied solely on family care, was given a job answering phones at the visitor center after the development of ecotourism. This job not only provided him with income but also allowed him to experience a sense of value and dignity. Through various measures, the village ensures that every villager benefits from ecological development. Whenever Lin Yue and Chen Yu see the villagers' lives improved by ecological development, they exchange smiles filled with happiness and contentment.
Community cohesion has been strengthened by the development of ecological projects. Villagers participate in ecological construction activities such as village clean-up campaigns and tree planting. During village clean-up campaigns, men, women, and children all pitch in, using brooms and shovels to clean up litter and debris. Children actively participate, picking up scraps of paper and plastic bottles from the roadside and sharing environmental knowledge with adults in their innocent voices. Every harvest season, villagers hold a grand harvest celebration to share the fruits of ecological agriculture. At the celebration, everyone enjoys organic food grown by themselves and admires ecological-themed artworks created by the villagers. These artworks, whether paintings or songs, are filled with praise for the village's ecological beauty and aspirations for the future.
Today, the village has successfully weathered numerous challenges. Amidst market changes, it has maintained stable visitor numbers and tourism revenue thanks to its personalized tourism products and extensive market channels. In the face of environmental changes, its well-developed ecological infrastructure and scientific monitoring and early warning system have played a crucial role, ensuring the village's ecosystem remains stable and healthy.
Looking to the future, as the village becomes a model of ecological development, the ecological environment will be further optimized. Forest coverage is expected to increase from the current 60% to over 70%, air quality will maintain the national Class I standard for a long time, water quality will become clearer and purer, and aquatic biodiversity will be further enriched, with an estimated addition of more than 5 fish species and about 10 aquatic plant species. Economic development will exhibit a diversified and sustained growth model. In addition to traditional ecological agriculture and tourism, ecological processing industries will be developed, such as deep processing of local agricultural products to produce organic food and natural skincare products. The output value of ecological agriculture is expected to increase by 50% in the next five years, tourism revenue will increase at a rate of 20% annually, and the output value of ecological processing industries will exceed 10 million yuan within three years. In terms of cultural prosperity, traditional customs will be more deeply inherited and innovatively developed. Several large-scale folk culture festivals will be held annually, attracting domestic and foreign tourists to visit and experience them. The number of inheritors of traditional handicrafts will more than double, and more young people will devote themselves to the innovative creation of traditional handicrafts, allowing ancient techniques to shine with new brilliance in modern society.
Lin Yue turned to look at Chen Yu, whose face was also beaming with a relieved smile. Their love had grown stronger through thick and thin. Those days and nights spent together, whether supporting each other in the face of difficulties or celebrating achievements, had become their most precious memories. Their dedication, like a bright flame, ignited the hope for the village's development and became its enduring warmth. This warmth will forever remain in the hearts of every villager, inspiring them to continue protecting this beautiful home and moving forward on the path of ecological development.
Lin Yue and Chen Yu know they will continue to accompany the village, facing new opportunities and challenges alongside the villagers. They believe that as long as the village maintains its reverence for the environment, upholds tradition while innovating, and prioritizes fairness and harmony, it will surely create a brighter future. At that time, the village will become a model of ecological development, attracting more people to learn from and emulate it. Its name will shine brightly in the long river of time, becoming an immortal legend of harmonious coexistence between nature and humanity.
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