ZIRAN (自然之声): Building a Culture of Sustainability

By Jenny Liang, CI Staff Writer

During a United Nations Security Council debate, naturalist David Attenborough stressed that climate change is “the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced.” Indeed, it seems alarming that 2.01 billion tons of solid waste is generated annually across the globe, while oceans are getting increasingly clogged with trash, species are becoming extinct daily, and 15 billion trees are logged each year.

In this landscape of apprehension, ZIRAN, a local Minnesotan nonprofit inspired by Chinese philosophy is bringing change to our local community:

ZIRAN (自然之声), “Zone for Integrated Resources and Alliances with Nature,” means “nature” in Chinese. “ZIRAN” is a central concept of Daoism, a millennium-old tradition emphasizing balance, integrity, and moving alongside the natural order. Their primary goal has been grassroots involvement within the Minnesota community, bridging Sino philosophy and sustainability with a modernizing diverse landscape.

Alongside, ZIRAN seeks to invigorate young Minnesotans to bring tangible change to our state. They host programs urging recycling, fighting food waste, and educating the next generation about protecting the environment.

One way ZIRAN connects with the next generation is through shaping college sustainability initiatives, prominently at Century College.

Century College Initiatives

In a collaboration with Century College’s Chinese Culture Club (Yanmei Jiang and Yan Wang), Jing Li and Grace Li from ZIRAN participated in three events at Century College to guide event recycling and waste sorting. The first event was in the May 2025 CelebrAsian , an event celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage. Approximately 200 people attended the event including students, employees, community members, and various Asian American organizations.

Their efforts were praised by attendees, including a Japanese student who noted how user-friendly the sorting system was. After the event, ZIRAN volunteers spotted a large, unsupervised trash bin and started to sort the waste. Their action captivated a student volunteer who video-taped the whole sorting process..

Thanks to their efforts, an event with over 200 participants produced less than one bin of trash.

In less than two months, Jing returned to Century College for the Community & Student Writers Showcase. With the help of a student volunteer, Blessing Manka Ndam, they again successfully provided guidance in helping participants in correct recycling.

A highlight of the evening came when Jing learned one of Yamei’s students, Aiden, made a poster called “Garbage in Japan” to showcase what he learned from his recent Study Abroad trip to Japan, inspired by ZIRAN’s recycling work at the CelebrAsian event. “I can’t describe how happy I was to see our efforts inspiring the next generation!” Jing reflected.

Towards the end of the event, Jing discovered three large bins of trash full of the Subway lunch boxes. After flattening the lunch boxes and sorting the contents into organic waste (e.g., food, napkins) and landfill waste (e.g., sandwich wraps, condiment packets, candy wrappers), three big bins of trash was reduced to less than half of a trash bin.

About three months after the second event, ZIRAN returned to Century College for the third time, alongside the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL), Twin Cities Metro Asian Fair, Minnesota Historical Society, and Japanese American Citizens League.

To their pleasant surprise, Century College had recently installed compost bins, and now ranks 4th among 33 Minnesota State Colleges, with a recycling rate of 46%. ZIRAN worked alongside Kris Price, a sustainability leader at Century, to strategize improvements and ways to increase campus recycling rates, with the goal of reaching 75% by 2030.

Witnessing an institution with over 12,000 students taking such a big stride in building a green campus is beyond excitement for ZIRAN members.

Through educating the public with simple steps on recycling, composting, and reducing waste, ZIRAN seeks to bring revolutionary change, one step at a time.

Get Involved with ZIRAN!

Are you looking to volunteer? Need service hours for a scholarship? Want nonprofit leadership experience? ZIRAN is the perfect place to advocate for sustainable changes in Minnesota!

Hands-on, community-driven sustainability efforts are the stimulus for long-term change. In modeling an ancient Chinese philosophy, ZIRAN serves as the prototype for how community organizations, educational institutions, and individuals can come together to create a cleaner, greener future—one event at a time.

Website: https://ziran.ngo/

Volunteer: https://ziran.ngo/volunteer

Email: [email protected]

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