"I know what that is," says a little girl when Liu produces a specimen jar, "because my daddy used to bread silkworms." Her knowledge sets her apart from the other children, many of whom have never seen that most quintessentially Chinese insect.
For the older students, Liu even offers a chance to explore the little river that runs though his land. "Some of the teachers find this a little too exciting," Liu says, "but the children love it." This activity, like digging up and baking sweet potatoes, making bamboo flutes or collecting fish, were a part of the childhood of many of their parents. "It builds an appreciation of Taiwan's rural heritage," Liu says.
PROGRAM SET TO GROW
According to Tsai Yang-cheng (蔡養正), the assistant director of the National Taiwan University Experimental Farm, the university is well placed to provide residents of Taipei with an urban farm facility. The land on which the facility is to be built is currently used as pasture. Tsai says that in addition to the actual farm area, the university has had long-term plans to open up other areas of the experimental farm to visitors. "This way, we can offer a wide range of activities. We already have an outlet for the production of our experimental farm, such as fresh milk," Tsai says. Longer-range plans include the conversion of the current irrigation ditch into an area for waterside activities.
The university seems well set to create the first city garden that combines leisure facilities with agricultural plots. Private operators such as Liu and Ho say they have been hampered by strict land-use regulations in making their venues more comfortable.
When Ho gave up a career as a computer engineer to take over his family land in 1992, there were "no laws in place" regarding the establishment of city gardens and associated structures. Now laws exist, but he says, "The entry barrier [set up by the government] is too high. They have not taken into consideration the actual architectural needs of setting up such a farm [in highly developed Taipei]."
Despite some procedural problems, Kuo of the COA is very positive about the future of city gardens and sees strong development in the future. But Liu warns that he does not see the government pushing the educational aspect of urban garden development as hard as it should. "Education is the key element in the long-term preservation of our environment," he says. Currently there are only four city gardens under the COA focused on education.
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