Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, September 2020
2020年9月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of September 19, 2020, Ms. Lu Ming-yun led 13 ARF interns and their parents on a trip to Tainan Zengwen Reservoir to learn about ecology and water resources. At the start of the day's activities, team leader Ms. Lu Ming-yun reminded everyone about things to note and what to observe, and gave the interns some background knowledge. ![]() The focus of the study tour is Zengwen Reservoir. The tour starts at the pier where everyone takes a boat ride on the reservoir. Introducing the reservoir location and surrounding environment, the tour guide pointed out that Zengwen Reservoir is located in the intersection between Chiayi and Tainan. A larger part of the reservoir lies within Dapu Township, Chiayi County, and only 10% lies within Nansi District in Tainan City, making it the largest reservoir and man-made lake in Taiwan. The tour guide continued to explain the workings of dam gates, automatic sediment monitoring system and dredging barge. He further mentioned that when Typhoon Morakot swept through Taiwan, its forceful impact on the reservoir. When the boat reached Wild Boar Island, everyone could watch the wild boars from the pier and feed them with fodder provided by the tour guide but had to stay off the island as the wild boars are not domesticated. The tour guide also warned everyone to keep their distance for safety reasons. The last stop of the lake tour was the Eagle Valley, which derives its name from the towering cliffs on both sides and eagles nesting there. Boats can only travel into the valley in summer when the reservoir water level is high. On the day of the tour, everyone was lucky to spot an eagle circling around the sky. ![]() In the afternoon, everyone proceeded to Sustainable Utilization Center to learned about reservoir ecology from Ms. Hung Su-chiu, assistant engineer with the Southern Region Water Resources Office. The lesson started with factors that should be considered when choosing a location for the reservoir dam. Due to its valley terrain, and being surrounded by mountains like Alishan and Yushan, and a catchment area for Zengwen River, Zengwen Reservoir is highly suitable for holding water. Ms. Hung also emphasized on the relationship between water resources and sustainability of climate, topography, hydrology, ecology and human culture, and reminded everyone the importance of protecting water resources. Ms. Hung went on to say that there are many protected animals in the forest surrounding the reservoir as its ecological structure is undamaged due to absence of human intervention. She also played videos recorded using infrared cameras while explaining the characteristics and habits of these animals. During the treasure hunt game that followed, the interns were told to remember certain scents and appearances, and then divide into teams to search for the correct herbs in the garden. The name and usage of the herbs were eventually announced and it allowed the interns to learn more about various herbs. After the game ended, everyone went to the Eye of Zengwen to look for the home of the Taiwan barbet. Ms. Hung explained that the Taiwan barbet likes to nest in tree cavities, and proceeded to bring everyone to look for signs of tree cavities and observe their characteristics. At this point, the day's itinerary came to an end. Everyone took a group photo before heading back and looked forward to the next study tour. |