1. Local Community Seminar

On Apr. 8, 1994, a group of environmental activists led by Mr. Xu, Ren-Xiu and Mr. Lee, Wei-Wen conducted a three days nature observation at the Sihyuan Yakou (Sihyuan Pass). The observation laid down the foundation for environmental protection commitment in Taiwan. On Jan. 22, 1995, Mr. Xu led another nature observation near Taipei Garden City with 62 participants. It was also when the first preparatory meeting of the Society of Wilderness (SOW) was held. Participants not only attended the meeting, but also conducted many observation activities, forming the tradition for SOW’s future meetings. In the startup period, SOW had hosted many nature observation activities such as Wulai Outdoor Survival Training Camp led by Survival Specialist Mr. Chang, Cheng-Hsiung and Mt Hehuan Nature Ecological Experiment Camp led by Mr. Xu. Since its establishment, SOW now has branches all over Taiwan with countless events, showing strong dedication and effort in promoting environmental protection activities.

In the several SOW events we have participated, Wugu Wetland is located on the western edge of the Taipei Basin. As it is located at the intersection of Tamsui River and Keelung River, the wetland contains abundant water resources and fertile soil. The region used to be barnyard for Greater Taipei. It is also in the migration route for many migratory birds. With diverse nature resources, Wugu Wetland Ecological Park has become an important habitat for migratory birds.

Shuanglianpi is located in Yuanshan Township, Yilan County. SOW has obtained a long term operating right to Shuanglianpi Ecological Classroom through a long term lease. This serves as the base to conduct environmental education and habitat conservation, as well as to encourage nearby farmers to conduct eco-friendly farming.

Located in the mountains of Wulai District, XinXian Trail is covered by dense forest and the best shelter for animals and plants. Daan Forest Park is located in the heart of Taipei City despite having “forest” in its name. It contains a wide variety of plants and has its own ecosystem. The park becomes a habitat for diverse species and provides a good environment for citizens to enjoy. People can easily discover and observe common birds, insects, and amphibians in the park.

By participating in the SOW events and activities, we have gained awareness of new environmental values and concepts and learned more about animals and plants, which is very valuable to us.

2. Project Summary

Being elementary school students and first time participants of CyberFair, it was interesting and somewhat difficult for us to brainstorm and choose a topic suitable for this research project. This is an important step that will affect our schedule in the next few weeks. We spent a whole week brainstorming the topic, then we discussed several topics with the teacher before making our final decision. After the discussion and feedback, we all voted for the Society of Wilderness, the representative environmental protection group in Taiwan and its founder, well-known dentist – Mr. Lee, Wei-Wen.

In order to make our project more comprehensive, we decided to cover the following contents:

1. Society of Wilderness Office Visit
   
2. Founder Interview
   
3. Volunteer Interview
   
4. Ecological Experience
   
5. Beach cleanup Activities
   
6. Photography Showcase
   
7. Campus Promotion
   

Through the research process, we put in effort, worked together as a team, and learned a lot of valuable experience and further realized the true meaning of “unity is strength”. In addition, after we visited the Society of Wilderness in person, we were deeply touched by their hard work and dedication. We hope that we could use them as our role models and become environmentalists who love our home and soil. This is the most meaningful reward we have gained from this project.

3. Network / Internet Technology

Network / Internet at school:
The middle school has a computer classroom equipped with fiber optic internet connection to access Taipei City Department of Education’s network center. We did most of our research, discussion and printing materials during our spare time.

Network / Internet at home:
Fiber Optic, ADSL, Cable

Data / material processing:
We share our research data and files and consolidate the materials via Gmail and Line. We also use a USB flash drive to work at school or at home. Smartphones are used for video discussion.

Communication between team members:
Smartphones, tablets, personal computers and notebooks, USB flash drives for communication and information sharing at any time.

4. Obstacles to Overcome

Although it is important to schedule and plan in advance, the reality is that things often don’t go as planned, just like the saying “It is the unforeseen that always happens”. A good example is the weather condition. As the project required us to schedule outdoor on-site visits and activities, sudden change in weather such as thunderstorm often forced us to postpone our schedule or come up with different strategies, making it difficult for us to arrange our schedule together.

Other than the weather factor, another obstacle we often encountered was how to show our sincere and serious attitude to our interviewees, so they would not see us just as kids. The best way to overcome this issue was to go through the information and data we had collected and be well prepared for the interview, so that the interviewees would get a clear impression that we were there with enthusiasm. We hope that through such meaningful activities, more people can know about the Society of Wilderness – the organization and environmentalists that have been in Taiwan for many years. Another obstacle is time management. As we are in different grades, it was not easy to schedule a meeting we could all attend.

5. Feedback & Takeaway

Since joining the Society of Wilderness, we have participated in many interesting and meaningful activities. We learned about SOW’s value and mission, as well as the importance of environmental groups and ecosystems through ecological tours guided by volunteers. We also went to Wugu Wetland to observe swallows. From mountains to the ocean, we had contributed our effort to protect the environment. It is very helpful to the environment regardless of the time spent. We would write down our feedback every time we had completed an activity. We would reflect on what we did a good job on and what we must improve next time. We also promoted SOW in school through classroom seminars. We want to let everyone know the importance of conservation and preservation of the environment, and start to go green together to make the world better. We hope that in the near future, everyone in the world can work with us to protect this beautiful planet.

During the time, as we had participated in many activities, the one activity that impressed us the most was the mountain cleanup activity. All Wilderness Crossing team members woke up early to hike along the mountain trails to pick up trash. The result was quite surprising as there was very little trash in the whole mountain. Although we only picked up a small amount of trash, we were still happy to see clear improvement in littering and a much cleaner environment. Seeing us doing the mountain cleanup activity, many hikers had praised us by giving us thumbs up along the way, which made me feel very happy.

We have learned a lot through these activities, and gained more understanding of the importance of ecological conservation and preservation, as well as being aware of environmental issues. In addition to participating in ecological activities to do our part for environmental protection, we also held a photography exhibition to promote the Society of Wilderness and showcase the result from our participation in ecological activities. We hope our actions can contribute to the conservation and preservation of the natural environment.