Former Taiwan Environmental Protection Union deputy secretary-general Lee Hsiu-jung (李秀容) called on the government to take the lead in efforts to conserve the environment and said the government had much to learn from the experiences of South Wales in the UK.
Lee said she had seen for herself how the efforts of one woman, known as Marina, changed the appearance of a barren mountain in the Welsh region.
Marina had planted the first tree seeds when she decided to move close to the mountains, and after 15 years, her efforts have borne fruit, literally, as the seeds have grown into young trees.
Taking advantage of a change in regulations two years ago allowing UK citizens to build on farmland, Marina has built her own house, powered by solar panels, and lives off rain water and her own home-grown produce.
Marina received an award for ecological sustainability from the British government last year.
Having met Marina at an anti-nuclear rally in the UK in 2011, Lee said she decided to accept Marina’s invitation to experience “life in nature” and flew to Wales in April to learn how to plant trees.
Lee said the first thing she learned about living in southern Wales was that one must have firewood 10 months of the year.
Due to the short days in winter, there were a lot of things to be done in the summer, Lee said, adding that she started working every day at 6am sorting different seeds, including potatoes, onions and carrots, to plant.
Lee said she also had to pick cherries, pears and apples, as well as find time to weed the gardens, adding that there was never any shortage of work to be done.
“It is hard work, but seeing nightingales and cuckoos fly around in the woods, storks drinking from the pond and the vibrant ecological system is well worth it,” Lee said.
Visiting an exhibition for forestry, Lee said she was surprised to find that every tree had its own “identification” recording its growth from a sapling, what diseases it had suffered and how it was cured.
“This is something Taiwan could emulate and learn from,” Lee said, adding that such identification programs would be extremely valuable in the planned Makauy National Park, as the park has many trees that are thousands of years old and which are much coveted by illegal loggers.
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