A group of Taiwanese are doing their part in protecting the land, that once charmed the hearts of foreigners…

Join them in their endeavors, and enjoy yourself in nature as never before.

The LNT program places its emphasis on low impact ecotourism. After years of promotion, mountain climbers in Taiwan have learned to minimize their impacts on the land and are beginning to be more aware of conservation issues. However, visitors to the rural areas or neighborhood trails are still unaware of their impact and responsibilities.

In recent years, besides introducing LNT ethics, Taiwan has began to put theory into practice. Some organizations are actively promoting the concept of “Working Holiday”, in the hopes of cultivating more conservation awareness.

The Changing Concept of Vacationing
The concept of working holidays begun in the 1920s. After the first World War, many European farms were in dire need of repairs. Youths from France, Germany and England formed teams to help the local farmers. The British were especially organized. The National Trust, the most active Bristish organization then, coordinated working holidays for various age groups. In 1980, environmental projects became part of the working holiday program. Resources were preserved by environmental trusts.

Over 80 countries including France, USA, Australia and Japan have similar programs that facilitates working holidays for the general public. Since the concept took hold in Taiwan, many organizations have conducted similar events. Of these, the Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA) plays a major role. Dao-yuan Sia, deputy director of the association, explains that a working holiday is the best way to combine work and play, while the environment benefits from it as well.

Participants of an eco-working holiday learn about the local ecological and cultural features. They immerse themselves thoroughly in nature and gain first hand experiences about living in harmony with nature through tree planting activities, mountain cleanups, and restoration projects. These activities bring them into close contact with the land itself, and present them with opportunities to understand and bond with the natural environment.

• upper left: The 2005 working holiday was conducted in a seed-saving project in Yangmingshan, where a man-made pond was made more natural by volunteers. / by TEIA
• upper right: Working holidays often attract international volunteers. / by TEIA
• lower left: Working holidays hope to introduce the message of conservation to the public through different themes and projects. / by TEIA
• lower right: The 2004 working holiday was spent in establishing an ecological pond at the Lijia trail in Taitung. / by TEIA

A New Approach to Environmental Protection
Many countries promote the importance of environmental protection by offering their citizens working holiday opportunities. Dao-yuan Sia has been to many coutries to learn from their experiences. Currently there are almost 50 trust organizations in Japan alone. These institutions actively protect natural resource areas and cultural heritages. The working holidays they facilitate usually involve short term projects to accommodate the busy working class in Japan. Some holiday programs take place in the countryside where city dwellers lend a hand to bamboo-cutting, mowing the grass, and reforestation. Scotland, on the other hand, offers longer working holidays with smaller groups. Participants come from all over the world, and through cultural interaction learn more about environmental protection.

Sia emphasizes that TEIA has always been a strong advocator of environmental information and education. Established in 2000, TEIA aimed to become an environmental trust. The organization realized its goal in 2004, and during that same year it conducted Taiwan’s first working holiday. Volunteers from Japan, Korea, USA, Germany and Taiwan combined efforts and built two Lijia Trail Bayer ecological ponds to help a remote community in its waste-handling capacity, and also to protect the local bio-diversity. In 2005, a working holiday was held in Yangmingshan on a seed-saving mission.

Eco-working holiday is an innovative way of vacationing. It is totally enjoyable, and everyone can come into close contact with the land through different forms of projects, experiencing unique ecological and cultural resources. At the same time, it benefits the land that we depend upon.

Dao-yuan Sia
Current deputy director of TEIA, and awards include the National Youth Project Award of the National Youth Council.

• upper: There is only one earth, and every one should do his part to protect it. / by TEIA
• lower left: Despite the hard work, experiencing nature through working is in fact enjoyable. / by TEIA
• lower right: Working holidays are one of the many ways to spread the natural environment. / by TEIA