National Parks of Taiwan

It was a group of very special participants. When stepping into the grasslands, they took off their shoes to feel the fragrance of air and soil with their bare feet. This group of naturalists appeared at the registration counter of the “2017 Sharing Nature and Loving the World” elementary and advanced workshops co-organized by Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters (YMSNPH), which has long dedicated to implementing environmental education, and Yuaiguang Health Preservation Association. And they couldn’t wait to experience “flow learning”, an important school of environmental education.

Flow refers to the feeling of total concentration of spirit and energy on some kind of activity. When the flow comes, a person will feel extremely excited and the sense of fulfillment. As what the name suggests, “flow learning” enables participants to forget themselves in their mind through natural awareness activities to achieve learning effectiveness.

In general, flow learning is divided into four stages, and each stage has corresponding activities. Learners can proceed stage by stage. However, instructors can adaptively adjust and arrange activities based on a group’s determination on that day.

This year (2017), YMSNPH co-organized the two-stage “2017 Sharing Nature and Loving the World” workshops with Yuaiguang Health Preservation Association. They invited citizens who are interested in nature awareness or educators in Taiwan to the workshop for an in-depth contact and to selflessly share their experience in localizing environmental education.

There were three sessions of the elementary workshop. The March 26-27 and April 30-May 1 sessions were led by Ching-yu Chang, ex-chairperson of The Society of Wilderness Taipei and current instructor of Soochow University; and Pei-yu Hong, family activity instructor of The Society of Wilderness. The April 23-24 session was led by Yao-guo Lin, chief consultant of Yishi Holistic Education Outdoor School; and Chun-ru Lin, environmental education instructor of the Environmental Professionals Training Institute of the Environmental Protection Administration. Participants expressed heat support and the activity earned critical acclaim.

There were two sessions for the advanced workshop: June 3-4 and June 6-7. In the morning, Cornell, who has visited Taiwan three times in 14 years, hosted the speech and demonstration activities. In the afternoon, in addition to instructors of the elementary workshops: Yao-guo Lin and Ching-yu Chang; Shu-fang Tu, founder of Tudafang Nature Awareness Center; and Shu-bi Xiao, senior tour guide of YMSNPH lead the activities. Each workshop attracted 60 to 70 environmental education workers from different parts of Taiwan to attentively participate in the activities to actively exchange their teaching and life awareness.