CyberFair Project ID: 7836

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Fubao - Our Wetland, Our Paradise, Our Love
Category: 7. Environmental Awareness
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2014/gsh7836/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2014/gsh7836/Bibliography.htm

School: Ryh Shin Elementary School
    Changhua, Taiwan, Taiwan

8 students, ages 11-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 8, 2014. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2013

Classes and Teachers: yu-lien Chou

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.rses.edu.tw

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Our hometown Fusing Township, is located at Siyu of Changhua County, being a typically coastal flat terrain that is long in the east-west direction and narrow in the north-south direction. Since it is close to Tainan and Lukang Township, the daily living services of Fusing Township and business exchange are basically provided by the urban areas of Lukang Township. Fubao Village, the most westerly seaside village in the township, has become a wasteland because of the serious salinization of farmland due to the seawater intrusion caused by the land subsidence. Ten years ago, the Fubao Wetland Ecological Park Plan was initiated driven by the conservation community and the local people, intending to develop the bird conservation into an in-depth regional tourism in combination with the local agriculture industry, animal husbandry and dairy farming. With the existing bird watching cabins and platforms, rich waterfowl ecology and frequent and spectacular swarming scene of water birds, Fubao Wetland is a place of waterfowl observation frequented by the bird-watching enthusiasts in the central region.

2. Summary of Our Project

There is a vast coastal land in Fusing Township, Changhua County to be the migratory birds’ rest station as time passes due to long-term fallowness. To protect the migratory birds further, Mr. Sheng-chieh Nien, etc raised several millions to rent this vast land (with a rental period of 10 years) and established the bird-appreciation platform for bird lovers to appreciate the birds without interfering with them. Now Fubao Wetland has become the paradise of migratory bird. Many migratory birds come here for winter stay, especially the himantopus, thus this place became the best choice for bird lovers. Touched by the stories of Mr. Sheng-chieh Nien on bird conservation, teachers and students in Rixin Elementary School expect to protect this land with more people to provide a safe inhabitance for migratory birds. The school led teachers and students in the school to know about Fubao Wetland through preservation courses, and enabled more people to know about and have an understanding on Fubao Wetland based on subject talk, preservation of community environment, movies (Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above) and interviewing relevant environment-protection personnel, thus to motivate more environment protection personnel to protect our Fubao Wetland. We expected that 10 year is just a start point. Wish the beautiful ecological birds to survive in this beautiful wetland with our care and love.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:1

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

(1)It is so difficult for data summary. Over the half year, we have conducted interviews and field visits for several times thus accumulated too many interview transcripts, records, photos and media archives. It’s very hard for us to gather all these data, make into ppt presentations and concentrate into essential webpage. We are frustrated about how to select data, delete the unnecessary items, compile into most important words and decide the photos to be used. Fortunately, after the team members’ discussion, we finished the products to be presented. (2)The biggest problem in this activity is the color paint on fence. Since it’s our first attempt, we suffered terribly during the process of rendering, e.g. the whole body tainted by paint and uneven primer due to poor technology. At the second time, we wear raincoats and gloves. However, we can’t mix the proper color, which consumes a lot of paint and a lot of time. Fortunately, under the teachers’ guidance, we mix the color smoothly and finish our fence work. It is although painstaking but brings about excellent experience.

(3)Another big problem is the far distance between the school and Fubao Wetland, which is about 9km and 20min drive. It requires long-term fatigue for each interview or observation. On the other hand, the president, director and teachers all support our Cyberfair project and always drive us to the destination never complaining painstaking. Many thanks to the teachers’ supports to this research.

(4)It’s also important for photographing. When select the photos, we find out that the photos are either with tiny important points, or poor light or sheltered important items, which can’t be used. It taught us that we shall think about the objects to be presented, the subject of scenery and the focus point to avoid useless photos.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Previously, we only enjoy the sceneries and novel things when hanging out with our parents. However, after this visit to Fubao Wetland, we know the difficulties and stories in establishment and operation of Fubao Wetland, the living beings existing in Fubao Wetland and their lovely and beautiful stories. Afterwards, in extracurricular activities or hanging out with parents, we will treat every beautiful thing from a completely different point of view, since we believe each of them with a beautiful and special story.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

(1) We learned the habits, characteristics, surroundings and all background knowledge about water birds during the process of exploration, observation and data searching profoundly and meaningfully.

(2) It is our first contact with the ecological environment and all animals, plants, bentonic organisms in the wetland, which are special and interesting to us. Both dependency relations and food chain relations among all living beings in the wetland ecosystem surprised us greatly.

(3) We can learn and practice the apparatuses to be prepared and attentions to be paid during bird appreciation.

(4) To love the animals and plants and protect the natural environment are the most important action experiences learnt by us in this Cyberfair project, which make us to love and cherish our ecological environment on earth. (5) This research helps us to know about the industries in our hometown from the relationship between human beings and hometown.

(6) Common people in the community will be naturally and likely acquainted with water bird in Fubao Wetland and have more opportunities to protect environment and water birds through the signing-up activities for wetland protection; this is so great. (7) We work cooperatively as a team, coordinate with each other, resolve the contradictions and achieve our goals under continuous running in and mutual assistance.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

1.Digital cameras:Take pictures of interviews and school events 2.Digital Video:Camera Filming of interviews and school events 3.Recording pen:Recording the interviews with Village Chief Chien-tsai Huang and Mr. Sheng-chieh Nien 4.Single beam projector:Used when promoting to the entire school 5.Photocopier and printer:Print out information from the internet and share with the rest of the classmates 6.Internet:Collect relative information from the internet, upload and download of image files. 7.Computer (Notebook):Type and save documents, communicate, research, process image, and make webpage Software 1.Ulead PhotoImpact X 3:Photo processing 2.Namo Webeditor 8.0:Webpage making, website management 3.nEO iMAGING:Image processing 4.Microsoft Word:Documentation 5.firefox:Search for information on the internet, send messages, download and upload files 6.Microsoft powerpoint:Write reports 7.PrintMagic 6.0:Make Interview Poster

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

To complete this Cyberfair project as hard as we can, we visited directly the pilot operator Mr. Sheng-chieh Nien of Fubao Wetland and the old village chief Mr. Chien-tsai Huang who discovered the water bird, through the president and teachers’ contact. We proposed our researches and anniversary activities of Fubao Wetland to the public in our community through the environmental bird Himantopus as high as a storey, when carry out blessing activities in our community. Besides, we enable the community common people to know Fubao Wetland and report our research results over the half year to the whole teachers and students in this school through appreciating the colored paint on fence. Finally and most importantly, we can propagandize to the whole world about our great local industry and enable more people to know the water bird paradise in our hometown, Fusing Township through making the webpage.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

(1) This project makes all children in the school acquainted with the characteristics of their own hometown, i.e. water bird paradise and leisure industry in Fubao Wetland, enables these children to propose to their families and neighbors about the characteristics so that more and more people will be acquainted with the business in Fubao Wetland operated by bird lovers.

(2) It’s a great encouragement and a small comfort for Mr. Sheng-chieh Nien to carry on further research on Fubao Wetland by us. We told him that we’d like to continue the foolish-like job although we are pupils to motivate the public’s caring for environment.

(3) Social publics and friends all over the world have the opportunities to know about the beautiful place and the paradise for water birds and all animals and plants in Taiwan.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

(1) We visited directly the protector of Fubao Wetland, Mr. Sheng-chieh Nien and Mr. Chien-tsai Huang through the president and teachers’ contact, and also gained their selfish assistance and support. (2) To know further about birds in wetland, we invited the retired director in Puyan Elementary School to interpret matters needing attentions in bird appreciation and bird habit for us. (3) In the activity of blessing around the community boundary, to propose the wetland preservation concept to common people, we borrowed a himantopus made of environmental-protection materials from Hsin Chu Zoo to walk along with us to LongxingKung, which is warmly welcomed and highly prized by the common people in community and attract their attentions. (4) To preserve the ecological resources in Fubao Wetland for long term, this school invited information volunteers in Tunghai University to guide the teachers and students in Cyberfair project for E-book making, to make the data of Fubao Wetland into E-book and reserve it as the ecological culture of Fubao Wetland.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Fubao Wetland is our industrial treasure in Fusing Township. In fact we have no idea about the stories and development process of this wetland before this research. We are very pleased to be engaged in this activity upon the teacher’s permission. We found out though interview and field investigation that this is not only a place for amusement or bird appreciation but a place full of impressive bird loving stories. There are so many lovely plants and animals not found by us before. Thus it’s an interesting activity for all of us.

The biggest problem in this activity is the color paint on fence. Since it’s our first attempt, we suffered terribly during the process of rendering, e.g. the whole body tainted by paint and uneven primer due to poor skills. At the second time, we wear raincoats and gloves. However, we can’t mix the proper color, thus consuming a lot of paint and a lot of time. Fortunately, under the teachers’ guidance, we mix the color smoothly and finish our fence work. It although painstaking brings about excellent experience.

Previously, we only enjoy the sceneries and novel things when hanging out with our parents. However, after this visit to Fubao Wetland, we know the difficulties and stories in establishment and operation of Fubao Wetland, the living beings existing in Fubao Wetland and their lovely and beautiful stories. Afterwards, in extracurricular activities or hanging out with parents, we will treat every beautiful thing from a completely different point of view, since we believe each of them with a beautiful and special story.

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