A student at National Municipal Taichung First Senior High School has been commended for raising environmental awareness with his drawings on a large blackboard on school grounds.
The blackboard, filled with chalk drawings of animal species endemic to Taiwan, last week became a hot topic at the school and captured the attention of principal Chen Mu-chu (陳木柱), who asked who drew the art.
After two hours, the school identified Lin Ching-feng (林敬峰), a 12th-grader, as the artist.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Lin said he hoped to raise awareness about how people should use less plastic.
As the school is located next to Yijhong Street, one of the busiest shopping areas in Taichung, students often generate a large amount of trash, especially plastic bags, after they buy food or drinks from street vendors, Lin said.
The school’s food store hands out plastic bags, too, he said.
Lin said that he thought the blackboard outside the school store would be an effective platform for his message, adding that the proposal was well-received by campus cooperative president Chen Hsin-hung (陳信宏), who manages the store.
Lin said he spent three days during the extended winter vacation drawing on the blackboard.
Raised in Nantou County’s Puli Township, Lin said he often rode his bicycle around the county’s mountainous areas, where he encountered the wildlife endemic to the nation, such as the mikado pheasant.
As an environmental advocate, he never uses an air-conditioner, buys drinks from tea shops or eats with disposable eating utensils, Lin said, adding that he hopes to major in animation at university so that he can convey eco-friendly ideas through visuals.
To support Lin’s idea, the school’s food store switched to paper bags.
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