Given Taiwan’s vulnerability to natural calamities, such as earthquakes and typhoons, Sun said she believed there was still ample room for Taiwan to champion environmental volunteering through well-designed eco-working holidays.
Government agencies and private organizations have also organized such working vacations.
Lin Wen-min, director of Kending National Park’s Nanrenshan Station (南仁山), said her office organized six two-day and one-night eco-working packages in August and last month that drew 137 people to clean up garbage in the Chufengbi (出風鼻) protected area on Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島).
Members of the public are barred from the 7km coastline without prior permission. The area boasts unusually shaped reef rock formations and much biodiversity, but is often polluted by trash swept onto the beach by high tides.
Each volunteer had to walk two to three hours to reach the beach and picked up an average of two bags of trash, which originated in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, Lin said.
The response to the beach cleanup was more enthusiastic than organizers had expected.
“Ten senior high school students took part in the program along with their parents, who encouraged their children’s participation to enhance their environmental awareness and altruism,” Lin said.
The package had some conventional perks, including a nighttime guided tour of the national park and a stay in an eco-friendly inn that featured local cuisine.
“As well as providing a new vacation option, working holidays offer a new promise in helping revitalize local economies,” Lin said.
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