Day Five Was Bittersweet

Our day started with a visit to the Certified Environmental Education Facility at Taijiang National Park. What a beautiful facility! We viewed a short film about the history of the park. It's only six years young! We learned about the plight of the Black-faced Spoonbill. There are only 2,000 birds in existence. I told them we have a Rosette Spoonbill in South Florida, which is related. After the film we were able to tour the facility and hear about the unique partnership the national park has with industry. They are able to maintain a sustainable oyster and salt industry within the national park. That is a first for me. I have never heard of such a partnership. She explained how the oyster are farmed and harvested. All practices are very efficient and sustainable. Next we were shuttled to the boat ramp, where we took a boat through the Green Tunnel. It really was a beautiful sight, almost dream like. It's amazing how similar Taiwan's environment is to South Florida. We actually saw Mangrove trees! However, they are called Sicao Mangroves. Oh, and Fiddler crabs! Of course, this day was bittersweet, since we knew it was our last day in Taiwan, with this amazing group of people. Our experience in Taiwan is one that we will never forget. Our hosts were so gracious and attentive. We learned so much about their culture, their environment, and their sustainability practices. We are going home with so much more than we came with. Thank you again, NWF (and our friends at Broward NatureScape), EPAT, and ESTCC for making this trip possible!

Broward County and our new friends in Taiwan. 

Jacque, Nicole, Christina, Ting, Milly, and Wen-feng.

Day Four Was Amazing

For the record I will be retiring the word amazing  since I have used it so many times on this blog but it really does sum up this trip. On this day we visited three schools had a wonderful lunch, a great night at the night market, returned to the hotel exhausted but excited. We met so many passionate and committed people on this trip. First we visited Nan-hua elementary, the sister school with North Chevy Chase elementary, where their students put on a fantastic martial arts performance. Their sustainability initiatives were very impressive and the mangoes were delicious! We enjoyed an exciting lunch with their staff and Principal Lee at the Treehouse Café. After lunch we went to see the monkeys. Off to our next school which was Yong'an Elementary school. Although our visit was short we were blown away by their use of technology to improve their carbon footprint. They had solar panels and a real time energy usage tool which could be used by students and teachers in the classroom. Also I can't forget the great Asus tablet app which allows the students to view images in 3-D. Our last school was Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of National Chiayi University, which is a partner school with Sequin Elementary. Their students presented a PowerPoint about their sustainability initiatives. They had some great ideas which I hope to implement at my school. We toured their butterfly garden, we toured their butterfly house.... their parent volunteers stayed to show us the different butterflies, caterpillars, and lifecycles. Then we got to visit their student requested, student created treehouse. It was amazing, whoops, I mean incredible! After our wonderful tour we loaded in the bus and visited the Chayi Night market where I still did not find my stinky tofu.

Unfortunately my cell phone battery died and I didn't get pictures for the affiliated experimental school.  I will post them later. Oh the mangoes!! 

   

Day Three

Our day started bright and early to head back to the nature park in search of monkeys. We arrived as the park was opening and we were lucky enough to be the only ones in the park. As we were walking we heard the sound of something hitting the ground. After more careful investigation we came across a group of monkeys. What a great way to start the day! After our monkey encounter we drove to Taidong to visit Junyi School for Innovative Learning, whose mission is to create a student centered, diverse, and safe learning environment based on the Leader in Me model to inspire each child to become a respectful, knowledgeable, skillful and exuberant global citizen. We were fortunate enough to be able to speak with and learn from one of the founding members, Mr. Stanley Yen, who is also the Chairman of the Alliance Cultural Foundation. He shared his passion for education reform and retaining the culture of the indigenous tribes of Taiwan. The school had vast arrays of solar panels, an extensive recycling program, and utilized day light for classroom lighting. Also, they are in the process of expanding the campus with sustainable buildings and landscaping. It was such a pleasure and honor to visit with this amazing staff and school. After our school visit we enjoyed a typical Taiwanese lunch and headed on a train ride to Tainan. 

Day Two....where to begin.....

Each new day is better than the previous. Our hosts from EPA Taiwan and ESTCC have gone to great lengths to ensure our experience is authentic, relevant, and memorable. Today we started with a tour of Bin-Mao junior high school. We took a beautiful drive up the eastern coast of Taiwan. The principal greeted us and lead us to the courtyard where we enjoyed an incredible show performed by the students. Their talent just blew us away. Something we will never forget. After a presentation about the amazing environmental and educational programs at the school we took a tour of their school. We visited their innovative inventions lab where students had created and patented their ideas. They have been recognized internationally for their innovative ideas. Also we toured their scooter repair shop where students have the opportunity to work not with just their minds, but with their hands and learn a valuable skill. After taking pictures and saying goodbye, we enjoyed an amazing lunch at Sunrise Wood craft work shop. Amazing views and amazing food! After lunch we headed to Jhihbden Nature Center. They provide educational programs for all the students in the area. We learned all about the incredible biodiversity in the park.  We hiked, we sweat, we had a great time. We learned so much from our guide Sophie.

  

Day One

The entire delegation visited Changkeng Elementary School in New Taipei City. We enjoyed a wonderful presentation about all their environmental initiatives.  We were able to tour the school and their impressive outdoor classroom. After our visit we headed to the airport to fly to Taitung. We flew over beautiful mountains and turquoise coast lines. We arrived at our hotel, Hoya Hot Springs Resort and our gracious hosts from EPA Taiwan planned an amazing 12 course meal.  It was delicious. We are learning so much about their culture and their sustainable practices. We can't wait to head to Bin-Mao junior high school tomorrow. Here are some pictures from our school visit today.

Our entire delegation team

Amazing performance by the students. 

The presentation by the principal at Changkeng 

Mrs. Perez and our new favorite fruit (thank you Wen-Feng). 

Broward County begins their journey to Taiwan

Our flight was delayed but we made it. Everything went smoothly thanks to our coordinators Kim, from the National Wildlife Federation, and Ting, from Environmental Science Technology Consultants Corporation. 

I'll post a picture of the entire delegation before we leave for Taichung. 

Griffin Elementary embarks on an educational adventure

Last year, Griffin Elementary was asked to participate in the US-Taiwan Eco Schools Program, an environmental education opportunity to collaborate with a school in Taiwan. We were trained in an online collaborative platform, called iEARN. We used this platform to prepare, collaborate, and share information regarding our chosen PBL project. As a result of this global online collaboration, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to Taiwan to learn more about the sustainability initiatives going on in their schools and in their country.

In just over a week, Milly Perez and I will be traveling to Taiwan to learn and share ideas about sustainability with other schools. We are so excited to learn from our friends in Taiwan and immerse ourselves in their culture and beautiful country. It's Mrs. Perez's first trans-pacific flight....how exciting!

Please check back for updates and pictures of our educational adventure!

Milly and Jacque