Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, June 2019
2019年6月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of June 22, 2019, Ms Lu Ming-yun led 13 ARF interns and their parents to Shimen to discover the ecological environment at Alibang Ecological Farm and play in the creek. It was sunny on the day of tour, and the interns and their parents were on time for the departure. It was clear and sunny on the day of the tour, and the interns and their parents were on time for the departure. 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. ![]() Alibang Ecological Farm at Shimen, New Taipei City, was built from funds pooled together by 60 families. For years, it has maintained the principle of "ecological restoration and low level of development", keeping its landform and ecosystem intact, and developing high biodiversity. The farm boasts up to 19 frog species, making it a great place to observe frogs on summer nights. The tour started with an introduction to the origin of the farm and its diverse ecological environment by a retired teacher, Madam Wang Su-chen. She explained that Alibang is the old name of the area. It became an important place for fabric dyeing in the early days due to its bounteous production of Strobilanthes cusia. "Alibang" means "dye workshop" in the language of the Pepo tribe. Speaking on the initial objective for building the farm, Madam Wang encouraged the interns to get to know plants and animals through observation, listening and touch, and learn about caring for nature. She then took out the complete shed skin of a snake to allow the interns to get up close to it using the above methods, and established the basic concept of outdoor observation. During the guided tour on the ecological trail next, Madam Wang introduced the insects and plants seen along the way. Using picture cards, she taught everyone how to differentiate between dragonfly and damselfly, and the main differences between a butterfly and a moth. She also mentioned that, to differentiate between taro and giant taro in the wild, one can observe the state of water on their leaves. Water will form little droplets on the leaf of the taro plant but not on that of the giant taro. In the early days, butchers would wrap pieces of meat in giant taro leaves. It is safe as long as the juice of the leaves does not come into contact with the meat and the meat is washed well. In fact, it is more eco-friendly than the use of plastic packaging today. ![]() After lunch, which was classic home dishes made from local ingredients, everyone headed to Alibang Creek. Farm owner Mr. Wang Te-chang was the tour guide. On the way, he introduced the surrounding ecosystem and facts about the Alibang Creek. Due to the effect of the northeastern monsoon, rain is most intensive in winter and significantly less during the rest of the year, making it most suitable for fieldtrips in summer. Mr. Wang then reminded everyone about general precautions when playing in the creek, including the weather, rainfall two days before, speed of water flow and not littering. On arrival at the destination, the interns went into the water in search of bottom-dwelling organisms. The clean water provides excellent environment for the organisms to thrive. It is also a testimony of excellent land cover upstream and good ecological environment. 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. |