Residents, teachers and students strive for tree protection, passing down the memories!
Economic development is the prospect of many towns and townships. Minxiong, the biggest township in Chiayi County, is no exception. In recent years, chain restaurants have been started up one after another, and many major constructions in the county have also begun. While Minxiong is becoming a more developed city, cultural assets and ecological environment were not valued the same. How should Chung Cheng University, a school which has been located in Minxiong for 30 years, address the various problems brought about by rapid changes? With the expectation of economic development, how can we, who shoulder social responsibility, make everyone attach importance to cultural sustainability and environmental conservation?
University Road in Minxiong, with a total length of about five kilometers, leads directly to Chung Cheng University from the provincial highway, passing through Dong Rong, Feng Shou and San Sing village. Thirty years ago, when University Road was constructed for the establishment of Chung Cheng University, the trees that had been planted by the township residents who were forced to work, to celebrate the accession to the throne of Japan emperor were mostly cut down or transplanted into the campus. The trees that remained in the same place became street trees that retain the historical scenes and memories of Japanese colonization, and they also formed a green tunnel that shades teachers and students. The beautiful trees were finally preserved, however, met with elimination two years ago.
In 2018, the county government and the township office received a Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan subsidy. For traffic safety reasons, they planned to remove the mango trees and blackboard trees on the double refuge island and change it to a single refuge island. However, the government did not inform the township residents in advance, nor did they arrange a place to transplant the mango trees. If it had not been for the media disclosure, township residents, teachers, and students of Chung Cheng University would not have launched a "tree protection movement" in time, and the mango trees with rich cultural history and ecological significance might "disappear overnight".
Not wanting the great memories that have deeply rooted in hearts to be erased, township residents, teachers and students formed a tree protection alliance to rescue the old mango tree. By hanging white banners night after night in the bone-chilling wind, visiting from house to house, shooting videos, and making Cliff’s notes versions of the project, we aroused more residents’ concern. At the same time, we had constant discussions, checked traffic laws and road planning documents, and visited officials many times. County mayor and high-level supervisors had directly communicated with township residents twice.
We are aware of the significance of urban and rural development and road safety, and strongly consent to the value of cultural sustainability and environmental conservation. Nevertheless, we don’t have to choose between the two goals. As long as we are willing to combine expert technology and township residents’ knowledge, the two goals might be achieved at the same time. In an interview with the media, the principal investigator of the University Road Reconstruction Project also advocated that the University Road construction involves Taiwan’s colonial history and the collective memory of the township residents, so the government should openly discuss the issues with the masses.
To integrate road safety with old tree protection, Rebecca Hsu of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute was invited to share how “climbing trees” helped her re-found the tie between mankind and nature; Poet Wu Sheng discussed the importance of ecological conservation and cultural preservation; transportation expert Dr. Chang Sheng-Hsiung, on the other hand, coming all the way from Taipei, assessed the situation with engineering science and transportation practice and analyzed the adjustment and design to find a win-win possibility. The township mayor and several council members in support of replanting also participated.
The University Road became a heated topic, attracting the media. The township residents’ actions made the government hold multiple explanatory meetings to listen.
During this period, we have witnessed the change in township residents. They no longer stay silent but speak out with microphones in their hands. They used no rhetoric and had no engineering background, but made proposals combining life experience and scientific analysis. They showed up for the development of contemporary society. The leader of Fengshou Community, Li Ming-Chu said it was his first time in a movement, and through it he discovered the strength within.
Although the mango tree couldn’t stay where they had been, they were moved to the university campus with the support of the president, reunited with the ones moved in thirty years ago. The project team encouraged the community, bringing about discussion, action, and awareness of the local environment, culture, and history among teachers and students. However, for us, empowerment is of the most importance. This journey is centered around the local people; the team and the people engaged in dialogues to create, empowering instead of patronizing each other. We grow with them.
A series of events inspired vision and momentum. The increased understanding of and interaction with the community even led to more local movements.
“Passing down the memories” became a shared mission of the residents, teachers, and students. People not only dug wider and deeper into the culture and history, but also collaborated with the neighboring Dong Rong Elementary School and Feng Shou Community for holding the first mango festival, inviting children to the community to understand, to respect, and to cherish. Ms. Cheng of Dong Rong Elementary School told us, this helps them learn about local history and develop their emotional connection and recognition, so that if participating in construction in the future they would know: an element cannot be removed simply on account of pursuing economic development, because “the culture is not complete and unique without any single piece. Young people wouldn’t want to stay for it.”
Ms. Cheng reminded us of the importance of culture and history. Because of the tree protection movement, we get to explore our roots, discuss with the residents publicly, and act with them. This year, we started to run cultural and historical workshops in San Sing Elementary School beside Chung Cheng University, through working on lesson plans together, hoping that in the days to come children would know more about their home and identify with the land.
University Road in Minxiong, with a total length of about five kilometers, leads directly to Chung Cheng University from the provincial highway, passing through Dong Rong, Feng Shou and San Sing village. Thirty years ago, when University Road was constructed for the establishment of Chung Cheng University, the trees that had been planted by the township residents who were forced to work, to celebrate the accession to the throne of Japan emperor were mostly cut down or transplanted into the campus. The trees that remained in the same place became street trees that retain the historical scenes and memories of Japanese colonization, and they also formed a green tunnel that shades teachers and students. The beautiful trees were finally preserved, however, met with elimination two years ago.
In 2018, the county government and the township office received a Forward-Looking Infrastructure Plan subsidy. For traffic safety reasons, they planned to remove the mango trees and blackboard trees on the double refuge island and change it to a single refuge island. However, the government did not inform the township residents in advance, nor did they arrange a place to transplant the mango trees. If it had not been for the media disclosure, township residents, teachers, and students of Chung Cheng University would not have launched a "tree protection movement" in time, and the mango trees with rich cultural history and ecological significance might "disappear overnight".
Not wanting the great memories that have deeply rooted in hearts to be erased, township residents, teachers and students formed a tree protection alliance to rescue the old mango tree. By hanging white banners night after night in the bone-chilling wind, visiting from house to house, shooting videos, and making Cliff’s notes versions of the project, we aroused more residents’ concern. At the same time, we had constant discussions, checked traffic laws and road planning documents, and visited officials many times. County mayor and high-level supervisors had directly communicated with township residents twice.
We are aware of the significance of urban and rural development and road safety, and strongly consent to the value of cultural sustainability and environmental conservation. Nevertheless, we don’t have to choose between the two goals. As long as we are willing to combine expert technology and township residents’ knowledge, the two goals might be achieved at the same time. In an interview with the media, the principal investigator of the University Road Reconstruction Project also advocated that the University Road construction involves Taiwan’s colonial history and the collective memory of the township residents, so the government should openly discuss the issues with the masses.
To integrate road safety with old tree protection, Rebecca Hsu of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute was invited to share how “climbing trees” helped her re-found the tie between mankind and nature; Poet Wu Sheng discussed the importance of ecological conservation and cultural preservation; transportation expert Dr. Chang Sheng-Hsiung, on the other hand, coming all the way from Taipei, assessed the situation with engineering science and transportation practice and analyzed the adjustment and design to find a win-win possibility. The township mayor and several council members in support of replanting also participated.
The University Road became a heated topic, attracting the media. The township residents’ actions made the government hold multiple explanatory meetings to listen.
During this period, we have witnessed the change in township residents. They no longer stay silent but speak out with microphones in their hands. They used no rhetoric and had no engineering background, but made proposals combining life experience and scientific analysis. They showed up for the development of contemporary society. The leader of Fengshou Community, Li Ming-Chu said it was his first time in a movement, and through it he discovered the strength within.
Although the mango tree couldn’t stay where they had been, they were moved to the university campus with the support of the president, reunited with the ones moved in thirty years ago. The project team encouraged the community, bringing about discussion, action, and awareness of the local environment, culture, and history among teachers and students. However, for us, empowerment is of the most importance. This journey is centered around the local people; the team and the people engaged in dialogues to create, empowering instead of patronizing each other. We grow with them.
A series of events inspired vision and momentum. The increased understanding of and interaction with the community even led to more local movements.
“Passing down the memories” became a shared mission of the residents, teachers, and students. People not only dug wider and deeper into the culture and history, but also collaborated with the neighboring Dong Rong Elementary School and Feng Shou Community for holding the first mango festival, inviting children to the community to understand, to respect, and to cherish. Ms. Cheng of Dong Rong Elementary School told us, this helps them learn about local history and develop their emotional connection and recognition, so that if participating in construction in the future they would know: an element cannot be removed simply on account of pursuing economic development, because “the culture is not complete and unique without any single piece. Young people wouldn’t want to stay for it.”
Ms. Cheng reminded us of the importance of culture and history. Because of the tree protection movement, we get to explore our roots, discuss with the residents publicly, and act with them. This year, we started to run cultural and historical workshops in San Sing Elementary School beside Chung Cheng University, through working on lesson plans together, hoping that in the days to come children would know more about their home and identify with the land.
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University characteristic Startup Stage Project
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Chiayi County
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National Chung Cheng University
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