Photos and article credit of Yeh Tzer-chi, director of general affairs, Sher Liao Elementary School, Nantou County

   To gauge from the school¡¦steaching environment and student enrollment status, where the school boasts a 27,322 square meter ground, with a student body of 266, campus foliage ratio of 61.8% and percolated area ratio at 75.63%, there are sufficient makings to provide the school with unique developmental potentials and advantages. To weigh the current school year¡¦sinitially petitioned sustainable campus partial reengineering plan, the school has been able to secure the grants for its dynamic sustainable campus reengineering and showcase resources, among which the showcase segment of the work is currently under way and expected to be completed by late May. The school¡¦sreengineering undertakings are comprised of a wind irrigation for irrigating the Lung En trench using water from the Tsoshui Shih; a water quality oxygen infusing system combining solar energy facilities; compose and eco planting focus project; a tennis court reengineering project revamping it into an agricultural teaching site; a campus walkway installation and systematic introduction of construction and A/V classroom setting improvement and layout reengineering project.

   With the Lung En Trench of Tzou Sui Shih, a class-3 cultural conservation site, that continues to nurture the floodplains along the river with abundance of produce and marine catches, the adaptation of the wind irrigation system for irrigating the Lung En Trench with water coming from the Tzou Sui Shih, coupled with a high oxygen infusion system for altering the irrigation water quality for irrigating the teaching farms, has been incorporated in anticipation of applying the students¡¦ experiment results for improving the local industry¡¦s quality output through community interaction. In addition, in response to tackling a major challenge of ensuring enough luminosity during daytime lighting conditions following the school¡¦s post-Sept. 21 quake campus rebuilding, we have turned our attention to focus on the source of all energy ¡V solar energy, by devising a 7kw solar energy optoelectronic and civil power parallel hookup generation system, which is linked to the Tai Power system, serving to support the school¡¦s daytime lighting needs. In conjunction to which, two units of rechargeable 185w solar energy street lamps have been erected to avail the students to solar energy¡¦s optoelectronic application, while the high oxygen infused irrigation system for the newly launched teaching farms is powered by a separate 3.5KW of solar energy optoelectronic and civil power parallel hookup system.

Moreover, with a total of 883 tree growths on campus, of which 400 being indigenous, this has come to spell a voluminous amount of fallen leaves. In a move to reduce waste hauling and in support of the organic farming at the teaching farms, a fall leaf compose area has been set up. The organic compose cultivated tomato crops are marked by a distinct aroma and sweetness that are the pride and joy of the students at harvest time. In eco planting implementation, the school has sought to supplant multilayered planting to the existing large evergreen growths and midrange evergreen growths at the outdoor teaching areas to bring biodiversity and enhance teaching yield. And in a move to reutilize the deserted tennis courts that fell victim to the earthquakes, decisions have been made to turn it into a rebar-supported mesh cultivation site, coordinated with independent pressurized pumping system powered by solar energy for a high oxygen irrigation system, that has turned the organic farms into a live teaching material on resource recycling, which not only offers the school children a teaching site but can be used to interact with community agricultural production and distribution cooperatives in anticipation of improving the community¡¦s agricultural output and quality through the experience. In conjunction to which, a complete revamp to the school¡¦s campus walkways had been made, combining the school¡¦s eco facilities, intended to revive the campus¡¦s overall routing system. The current plan calls for laying 800 meter long of percolated walkway surfaces, which are to cover the Fong Shiang walkway, sports field interconnecting bricked walkways, five-leaf pine walkway, needle palm walkway, which are not only open for students to exercise in but are also leisurely and exercise venues for community residents and visitors alike.

   In terms of the sustainable development of aneco education is concerned, the level of support by school management board and administrators on the topic of sustainability also plays an important role in actual implementation. To avail the importance of biodiversity to ecology, we have organized a field excursion for the entire faculty and student body to visit the biodiversity exhibition held at the Chi Chi Special Biodiversity Center. To excel the teaching faculty¡¦sawareness of the indigenous specifies and the impact that introduced species have toward the ingenious flora and fauna, and to avail the school students and parents to better understand campus vegetation, we have commissioned for a campus botany encyclopedia handbook, classified under central library catalog number ISBN 957-01-4472-6, and have it posted onto the school¡¦Web page, together with retaining Taiwan University Experiment Forestry Center Dr. Chung Nien-jun to provide essential botany profiling for school associates. We have also extended blanket invitation for school faculty, student body, the parents and general public to come in on weekends and turn some 400 square meters of infertile land next to the runway into an oasis utilizing community resources. And none if more moving than when following the completion of the firmware and software how the curricular designs of the integrated activity domain combining all students grades, the curricular design for nature, technology or even flexible study hours have all been manifested, and the enthusiasm and sophistication found in the children¡¦senvironmental discussion forums and communications made through the information platform have advanced than before.

   In all, as something that we started as a singular activity design, it is not until the school incorporates the Taiwan green campus partnership and participates in the Ministry of Education¡¦sustainable campus development scheme does the program achieved an integrated status, whether it be in teaching activities, teaching material, firmware equipment or administrative support. And it is at this point that we begin to realize the importance that an education institution plays in a sustainable development process, and more aware of the fact that sustainability does not stop here. With this, we begin to talk to the students about energy saving, water conversation, with farming teaching, leaf compose and multiple planting coordinated to support the local environment. All such efforts are eventually recognized when the school is awarded first place form the first National Sustainable Development Outstanding Education Awards, which in turn has prompted our awareness to be thankful to many, including the environment protection team, school inspector corps, community development association and Sher Liao team that is deemed most devoting. We anticipate that the students be able to passing on the concept that ¡§Contemporary development is to be made revolving around a principle of not jeopardizing the well being of future generations, while the value of education lies in culminating the students with an obligation for pursuing all things that are true, perfected and beautiful, and we are all very elated in how residents in the Sher Liao area can now feel the vibrancy and pulsation of this green field, following our dedicated efforts.