Paris is the most wooded city in Europe, and around one quarter of its area is taken up by parks, gardens and other green spaces.

Jardin des Plantes: over 28 hectares

This impressive botanical garden is home to four museums, including the Natural History Museum, which houses a variety of African animals. The gardens themselves boast thousands of species of plants. This is a lovely place to relax and explore the beautiful surroundings.

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont: over 24 hectares

If you want to get off the tourist trail and hang out with true Parisians, this park is the perfect spot for a relaxing picnic or a leisurely wander. It is in the 19th district and is one of the largest parks in Paris. Cross its lake on the suspension bridge, or admire the waterfalls and attractive temples.

Jardin du Luxembourg: over 25 hectares

These beautiful gardens were first laid out in 1612 as the gardens of the Luxembourg Palace. They include a geometric forest, French and English style gardens, as well as a large pond. There is so much to see and do with activities especially for children, such as slides, rides and puppet shows, as well as leisure and sporting activities for adults. The gardens are home to more than one hundred sculptures.

Le Parc de la Villette: 55 hectares

This urban cultural park is so much more than just a park as it is home to numerous music venues, exhibition spaces and cafes. It is also home to no less than 12 gardens, which all follow different themes. The Passenger Gardens, for example, which are built on what was once the sheep market, support a variety of ecosystems, demonstrating the importance of biodiversity.

In order to get rid of goldenrod from the city, the government of Wuhan is encouraging residents to report any findings of the plant, which is classified as a harmful alien （外来的） species.

Goldenrod is one of the most successful and widespread alien plant species. It is often referred to as "the flower of the devil", as it spreads extremely fast and causes other plants to die.

Besides Hubei province, the plant has also been found expanding in other provinces such as Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Although local authorities have tried to get rid of the plant, it is proving to be a difficult task. Goldenrod represents just one of the alien species that are aggressive towards the country's native species. Statistics show that by 2020, nearly 800 kinds of alien species had invaded （侵略）the country, among which 638 species have invaded the country's agricultural and forestry ecosystems, causing direct economic losses of about 200 billion yuan ($ 31. 36 billion).

At the United Nations Biodiversity Conference held in Kunming, Yunnan province, the invasion of alien species was the subject of discussions, as it was regarded as one of the two most important factors leading to the loss of biodiversity, the other being human-caused ecological damage.

China passed its Biosecurity Law on April 15, 2021, which provides the legal basis for preventing the invasion of alien species and protecting biodiversity in the country. The relevant departments also strictly carry out port inspections and quarantines （检疫）so as to keep harmful organisms out of the country, and they strengthen early warning and monitoring systems so as to address the invasion as early as possible.

However, while government departments are making every effort to prevent and control the situation, the participation of the people should not be ignored. It is also necessary, as Wuhan is doing, to encourage people to pay attention to invasive species and actively play a role in keeping them at bay. Preventing any invasion by an alien species and protecting biodiversity should not just be the government departments fighting alone, but also a people's war.

Singapore's government has approved the sale of a laboratory-grown chicken meat. The American company that invented the product, Eat Just, says it is the first time lab-grown meat has received such approval anywhere in the world. Lab-grown meat — also called clean or cultured meat — is created from animal cells in a laboratory. The product is made without harming animals. The cells grow directly into the meat, outside of any animal.

The Eat Just product is to be sold as small pieces, called nuggets. The product is set to launch at a Singapore restaurant "in the very near term," the company's CEO Josh Tetrick told Reuters news agency.

Demand for alternatives to animal meat is rising across the world because of public concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment. Plant-based products — popularized by companies like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Quorn — are selling in a growing number of stores and restaurants. But the development of lab-grown meat has been much slower than that of plant-based versions. The main reason for the delay is money. Lab-grown meat costs a lot more to produce.

Tetrick said the San Francisco-based company is also seeking approvals from U. S. government agencies. But he added that Singapore was a "good bit" ahead of the United States. The Singapore Food Agency said it examined data from processing, production control and safety testing before approving Eat Just sales. Tetrick said it is likely that the U. S. and countries in Europe and elsewhere will examine Singapore's approval system and will attempt to create a similar process.

Eat Just was founded in 2011 and has raised more than $300 million, Tetrick said. The company is valued at around $1. 2 billion. Worldwide, more than 24 companies are testing lab-grown fish, cow and chicken meat. They are hoping to break into a new part of the alternative meat market. Financial experts at Barclays Bank have estimated the market could be worth up to $140 billion by 2029. Competitors in the market have also been able to raise large amounts of money and win support from well-known investors.