July 1 marks the anniversary of the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters. To celebrate the occasion, the Headquarters has always organized different activities on the weekend before July 1 each year.
Pre-school to elementary school: Family fun hands-on activities
The hands-on artistic experience organized at the Wenshui Visitor Center is based on the aboriginal culture near the Shei-Pa National Park and the birds of Wenshui. Professional speakers and tribal elders teach participants how to make bamboo chopsticks, bamboo cups and silk prints of Wenshui birds at the hands-on cultural and creative pavilions on site.
>Participants are given bamboo sections to be peeled and sanded until they become beautiful bamboo cups. When children cannot properly peel the bamboo, parents help them out. Sometimes they also teach children how to use knives correctly. Speakers in traditional Atayal clothing explain that bamboo cups can be used as ceremonial cups in the Atayal culture. Peeling the bamboo not only makes the cups more durable, but also more aesthetic.
Elementary school to junior high school: Young guides shine on the stage
The Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters organizes summer guide training for fifth to eighth grade students, and allows them to give tours to visitors once they complete their training. The young children are not shy when facing visitors, and explain in teams the exhibits in the venue in an organized manner. Some details that visitors often miss when visiting the area by themselves, including Atayal statues perched on the lookout, or collared scops owls and bat houses hidden in trees, are pointed out by the young guides, gaining the recognition of visitors who are surprised by all the details of the venue’s design.
Senior high school students to adults: Seminars on diverse themes - physical and online interaction
The Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters has organized physical/online seminars and interactive activities. The2021 Conservation and Research Presentation was organized on YouTube, where research teams were invited to share their results, including the analysis of hunting resources in aboriginal hunting in the Xuejian area and a documentary on salmon returning to its birthplace for the general public. The Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters also released thethree-minute trailer of “Thirty Years in Development and Foresight into the Future,”so that the general public could witness the changes in the past 30 years, and the members of the team who have always helped each other.
Appreciation of the Volunteers' Selfless Dedication
The commendation conference is an important annual activity. Every year, more than 300 volunteers are invited to return for the celebration, in hopes of uniting the team spirit, providing more professional services, and enhancing the visibility of the National Parks.
All of these activities are aimed at allowing visitors of all ages to discover the abundant resources of the National Parks, to be moved in the process, to be motivated to protect nature, and to visit and to genuinely cherish our National Parks.