More than 300 primary school students and soldiers cleared up trash around the Lhalu Wetland Conservation area in Lhasa, the Tibet autonomous region, on June 5 to mark the 43rd World Environment Day.

The wetland area, the largest near a city in China, is vital in keeping Lhasa in its mild climate, functioning "like a lung for the city".

A team of 10 scholars and doctorate holders from around the country joined the one-day activity to share their knowledge in environmental protection with students and soldiers.

"We take this special day to teach the benefits of environmental protection and we hope the awareness of environmental protection can be raised through this activity," said Zhang Lin, a member of the team.

Students and soldiers were given lessons on collecting trash and how to sort, recycle and dispose of it.

"It is my sixth time attending the activity and it is so important for us as students to participate in such actions. Our awareness of ecological conservation has been strengthened and we got the opportunity to contribute to the environment," said Feng Yingying, a primary student at Lhasa's Lhalu Primary School. "We collected the waste and afterward we sorted it out and recycled the trash."

The students spent the rest of the day in the streets of Lhasa to deliver leaflets and fliers that talk about environmental protection, said Du Daolin, deputy director of the Environment Protection Department of Tibet.