“I see you've got a bit of water on your coat, ” said the man at the petrol station. “Is it raining out there?”“No,   it's pretty nice，”I replied，checking my sleeve. “Oh，right. A pony（马驹） bite me earlier. ”

As it happened, the bite was virtually painless: more the kind of small bite you might get from a naughty child. The pony responsible was queuing up for some ice cream in the car park near Haytor, and perhaps thought I'd jumped in ahead of him.

The reason why the ponies here are naughty is that Haytor is a tourist-heavy area and tourists are constantly feeding the ponies foods, despite signs asking them not to. By feeding the ponies, tourists increase the risk of them getting hit by a car, and make them harder to gather during the area's annual pony drift（迁移）.

The purpose of a pony drift is to gather them up so their health can be checked, the baby ones can be stopped from feeding on their mother's milk, and those who've gone beyond their limited area can be returned to their correct area. Some of them are also later sold, in order to limit the number of ponies according to the rules set by Natural England.

Three weeks ago, I witnessed a small near-disaster a few miles west of here. While walking, I noticed a pony roll over on his back “Hello!” I said to him, assuming he was just rolling for fun, but he was very still and, as I got closer, I saw him kicking his legs in the air and breathing heavily. I began to properly worry about him. Fortunately, I managed to get in touch with a Dartmoor's Livestock Protection officer and send her a photo. The officer immediately sent a local farmer out to check on the pony. The pony had actually been trapped between two rocks. The farmer freed him, and he began to run happily around again.

Dartmoor has 1, 000 or so ponies,   who play a critical role in creating the diversity of species in this area. Many people are working hard to preserve these ponies, and trying to come up with plans to find a sustainable（可持续的）future for one of Dartmoor's most financially-troubled elements.

Have you imagined that planting trees can make a big difference? People say that one man can’t make a difference, but Abdul Samad Sheikh, a 60-year-old rickshaw (人力车) driver from Bangladesh, has proved that doing a small thing over a long period of time can mean very much. He has planted at least one tree every day since he was 12 years old, which means that he has so far planted a small forest of over 17,500 trees. Imagine if everyone followed his example.

Abdul has worked as a rickshaw driver for most of his life. He makes a little money from his job, which is only enough to put food on the table for his family, but he somehow tries to also buy at least one tree every day. He considers it his duty to the world. Mostly he plants them on government land so nobody can cut them down later. He also waters them, and if he sees anyone cutting a tree, he blames them.

Abdul, his wife Jorna, and four of their children live in two old houses, on a piece of land that is owned by the Faridpur deputy commissioner’s office. They have no land of their own.

Sometimes, she commands him not to plant trees but he doesn’t listen. Abdul’s 30-year-old son, Kutub Uddin, has never told his father not to plant trees, because he thinks his father does a good thing for society.

Abdul’s neighbors all know about his daily habit, and praise his work. Whoever can ask of him anything, he will do his best to help. Therefore, Abdul is loved by neighbors.

For his efforts, Abdul Samad Sheikh was recently honored by The Daily Star, and given $1,253 to help him build a better home for his family. The Daily Star wished everyone to follow his example, and protect the environment.

“I can’t do it alone. I need the help of you all,” Abdul said in his speech.

For many years, Bruce Bexler dreamed of going where no human had gone before. He wanted to cut a path through unexplored lands and discover rare, exotic species.

That might sound like an impossible dream, but Bexler turned it into a reality.

In December 2015, he and a team of Australian and American scientists ventured into an isolated tropical rain forest on the island of New Guinea. They were the first people ever to enter the mist-covered region. “As time was limited, we were dropped in by helicopter. Once we were on the ground, there were no trails anywhere; it was really hard to get around,” Bexler says.

Within minutes of landing, the team spotted a black chicken-like bird with strange orange skin hanging from its neck. The scientists soon determined that the unusual creature was a type of honeyeater — the first new bird species to be sighted on New Guinea in 60 years.

The honeyeater wasn’t the only surprise for the scientists. They discovered more than 40 previously unknown plant and animal species — 13 birds of paradise, 20 frogs, four butterflies, and five palms. “We were like kids in a candy store,” Bexler recalls. “Everywhere we looked, we saw amazing things we had never seen before.”

The newfound species didn’t shy away from the scientists. Two long-nosed echidnas — primitive egg-laying mammals — let the visitors pick them up and take them back to camp to study them. An echidna looks like a hedgehog and is also called a spiny anteater.

Bexler thinks the animals weren’t scared because they had never seen humans before. “In almost all parts of New Guinea, animals are hunted for food, and because of this, they are very cautious of people,” he explains. “This area gives scientists a place where they can go to study the behaviours of animals that have not yet learned to be afraid of people.”

Scientists believe the area is probably the largest untouched forest in Asia. Local people called Kwerba hunt and collect plants from the outer-edges of the forest but told Bexler that not even their ancestors had gone so far into the woods. The wooded area is approximately a 10-day walk from the nearest village.

Bexler and his team did not have enough time during the expedition to study the area completely. They hope to return and expect to record many more undiscovered species. “We just scratched the surface,” Bexler says. “Anyone who goes there will come back with a mystery.”