BEIJING - About 70 persons engaged in protecting China's endangered species of wild Fauna and Flora at the grassroots level were granted the Subaru Ecological Protection Award early this month.

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The prizewinners included workers in the forest protection, researchers, or experts of the wildlife protection, police officers fighting against poachers, educators, media staff and volunteers devoting themselves to the efforts.

China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) has set up its first-ever fund aimed at rewarding groups and individuals engaged in protecting wildlife and the country's fragile eco-systems since 2008 with the help of Subaru China Inc, a Japanese car manufacturer.

Ever since, Subaru has donated 1 million yuan ($151,947) every year for CWCA, the country's largest organization of its kind with more than 300,000 members, to promote the protection with many groups and individuals involved in the cause at the grassroots level across the country being picked and rewarded.