Recently, the School of Life Sciences at Liaoning University organized students from the Class of 2024 majoring in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics to travel to Xianrendong National Nature Reserve in Zhuanghe, Dalian, for a week-long field practice program.

Full-time teachers worked alongside the School of Life Science’s Party-Member Teacher Guidance Team to coordinate and lead the field teaching. Party-member teachers took the lead by example and shouldered responsibilities proactively, while full-time teachers shared their expertise generously and accompanied students throughout the program. Using the real-world setting of the nature reserve, the program created an immersive nature classroom. Centered on practical topics such as native species surveys and regional ecological restoration, it integrated standardized research paradigms into field-based learning, guiding students beyond textbooks and into the mountains and forests. The program helped bridge theoretical learning and ecological practice, strengthen students’ professional foundations, and deepen their commitment to serving the country through scientific research.

Faculty and students went deep into the reserve for systematic field-based practical training. Working in groups, students completed a full set of professional practice tasks, including bird behavior observation, wild insect collection, identification of native plants, ecological quadrat surveys, and preparation of animal and plant specimens. Under the guidance of their teachers, students conscientiously followed the regulations governing the management of national nature reserves and carried out sample collection, specimen fixation and setting, mounting, and archiving in a standardized manner. The animal and plant specimens produced were fully labeled and properly formed, and a set of authentic and systematic field ecological survey data was compiled. Through field reconnaissance and hands-on practice, students cultivated a rigorous and truth-seeking research ethos, enhanced their practical, collaborative, and data-analysis competencies, and achieved a deep integration of classroom theory and field research practice, applying what they had learned in real-world settings.

Translated by: Tan Ruomeng

Edited by: Gao Mengdi, Liu Hanlin

Proofread by: Li Zhibin

Reviewed by: Jin Jinghua