News from Yangmingshan National Park

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	Sharing Nature Articles and Activities News from Yangmingshan National Park by Hsiao Shu Bih, Taiwan	More Articles
	The island called Taiwan lies between 21° 45' and 25° 38' northern latitude and between 119 °81' and 122° 61'eastern longitude. Its area is 36000 square kilometers, and includes high mountains, plains, basins and rivers. The topography is complicated and full of variety. Therefore, starting in 1982, six national parks have been formed. One of these is Yangmingshan National Park, the special character of which is its volcanic mountains. Yangmingshan National Park was founded in September 1985. From that time till now, the interpretation and educational activities, which began by emphasizing giving information about the natural contents of the park, slowly added guidance on experiencing and sharing in nature. Thanks to the influence of Joseph Cornell the staff gradually learned how, through special activities, to develop in the participants the spirit of experiencing nature. With the approval and support of the director, the park organized a series of activities to promote this spirit such as Travelling in Nature, Discovery Trips, Teacher's Activity session, and Session for Experiencing the Life of Nature. The participants reacted very favorably. To show how to experience nature, and the inner meaning and importance of these activities, we made in 1999 a multimedia program (18 minutes in length) "Dancing with nature", for showing in our Visitor's Center. This way we can share with everyone how to enjoy the most beautiful contacts with nature. In the process of planning and carrying out these activities we have gathered a group of very good volunteer friends who help with all their power. Through investigating, maturing, getting more profound understanding, creating, we slowly become stronger. We have been fortunate to have Joseph Cornell visit Taiwan himself and give us his guidance. He not only taught us many methods and told us some news, but, more importantly, made us feel the invisible influence of a personal presence. Our Chinese ancestors said: "The Human Being follows Earth; Earth follows Heaven; Heaven follows the Tao; the Tao follows Nature". We firmly believe in the beauty and goodness of activities that encourage the experiencing of nature, because through them what is best in a human's life is constantly drawn out, and in experiencing the beauty of nature we feel the high value of life itself. We believe that, regardless of nationality, everyone will certainly continue to pread the activities experiencing nature and to share in their spirit. Hsiao Shu Bih Hsiao is not very tall, but has a neat figure and a beautiful smile. Brought up in the countryside, she has always loved trees, and flowers. She has a Master's degree in Forestry. Hsiao has worked in national parks for ten years, loves her job, and loves sharing her observations of nature. She is also interested in books about nature and the meaning of life, listening to music, mountain walking and meditation. Address: 1-20 Chutzehu Road, Yangmingshan, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. Telephone: 886-2-2813601 Fax: 886-2-28611504 E-mail: shubih @ ms26.url.com.tw An experiencing nature activity - "Participating in the life of an ant"


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