International conservation volunteer tourfor swallows and wetlands

Green Holidayin Taiwan[ 13th to 16th Spt. 2014 ]GuanduKeelung

TaipeiGreen Holiday is quite a new concept for tourism developed by Wild
Bird Society of Japan, which entails practical conservation work,
lectures set up with NGOs and the local people. The main focus wasBarn swallows, a common bird in both Taiwan and Japan.
There were 23 volunteers from Wild Bird Society of Japan, about
60 Taiwanese volunteers in total, 160 local school students andteachers joined the wetland conservation work for Barn swallows ina 4 days 3 nights programme.
We also had active discussion among each NGO on how to promoteconservation of nature, and visited local school which startedswallow observation programme with children.

Guandu Nature Park, Taipei-city(working with the Wild Bird Society of Taipei)

Clean up the ponds
to protect foraging
site for swallows

Barn Swallows
roost watch at
Wugu wetland

Chu-hong lake, Keelung-city(working with the Wild Bird Society of Keelung)

There are many dragonflies and insects living around the Chuhong lake, and provide swallows a buffet of food. The wetland
habitat was slightly altered 2 years ago by eutrophication caused by
nesting egrets. In the summer season, the water surface is covered
with water lettuce and it decreases the habitat for dragonflies andother insects.We worked with local volunteers to remove water
lettuce to protect the delicate wetland ecosystem for dragonflies andto enhance the foraging site for the swallows.

Local voice fromthe Chu-hong lake
Japanese volunteers came such a long way
showing the importance of wetland conservation.
Thanks to this conservation work on Chu-honglake, we have been able to bring international
attention and the Keelung City government
should really consider how to make this habitatan National Important Wetland. (Mr.Chen , a local
political leader of Xinyi District, Keelung)18

Communication
with local school(working with Shen-Mei
Elementary School)

Volunteers’
Voice

The Shen-Mei Elementary School (Keelung City) has started a Barn swallow
observation programme since Feb 2013 and the children who joined thesurveys gave a presentation of the 1st survey results for us.
The children watched and counted the barn swallow nests and observed
the environment in the neighbourhood of their school. They found the nests
on the corridor of the buildings with eaves and walls made of concrete,
rather than tile. There are very few nests at the new styled building without
eaves which were recently constructed in a new town. Increasingly, the new
construction styled buildings in the school’s neighbourhood, are causing aloss of habitat for barn swallows.
Children have noticed those environmental changes through the swallow
observation programme. The school teacher expressed“Introducing the swallow observation as a school
activity, and the children have responded
very sincerely, finding interestin not only swallows but anyother creatures they came acrossin the neighbourhood, such as
insects, plants, and raptors flying
overhead. The effect is more thanwe could have expected.”

Pum Soontornkit

Local voice fromNGO(A volunteer from Japan)

International Green Holiday brought together people ofdifferent ages, sexes, occupations and nations. It gave
all of us chances to get our hands dirty and sweat fromhard work, and by feeling, and touching our mothernatures. It made us feel and realize why we need to saveand preserve our environment and ecology together.
The trip also helped us to appreciate the importance ofnatures and our ecology system naturally.
With many activities from field works, exchanges
ideas and knowledges with local participants, we got
so many chances to see many wild birds, dragonflies,
butterflies and most impressively barn swallow roost.
By working and seeing, we knew our work to save ournatures and ecology were in fact, not for anyone else,
but for ourselves, our future generations and our futureenvironments.
I have gained so much from this trip, not just realized
the importance of natures, but gained the pricelessexperience and friendship among the participants both
Japanese and Taiwanese.
Work to save our environment can’t be done just by one
country, one person, and one time.
And we don’t need tobe physically strong to
get involved in suchprogram. The loveof nature is by heartand passion in eachindividual.

19

Victor Yu(Ecotourism Taiwan)

The first Green Holiday
in Taiwan has worked
at 2 wetland, Guandu
Nature Park in Taipei
City and Chu-honglake in Keelung City. It
has worked and hadcross communication
more or less with volunteers
from Wild Bird Society of Taipei, Wilderness
Association, Wild Bird Society of Keelung, Xinyi
District of Keelung City, and Shen Mei Elementary
School. Volunteers from Japan worked very
serious and hard under hot summer sun which
has touched the heart of Taiwan people deeply.
They shared common enthusiasm of nature
conservation and for the love of Swallows. It
also mutually enhanced the belief that it’s ourresponsibility to work for nature conservation withmore effort. The working spirit and the concept ofnature conservation should be shared with morepeople. This is the first time Wild Bird Society ofJapan and Ecotourism Taiwan worked together
for GH-Taiwan. It has created a small ripple in thepond. We firmly believe the ripple will be and canbe larger through our close cooperation.