All borders were closed off to foreigners! When the global pandemic struck, the detailed timeline of the Engineers in Action's plan was thrown into disarray. With increasing fear of the pandemic, countries had been forced to close their borders in order to keep their nationals safe. Although not unexpected, this meant that the interaction between the Engineers in Action (EIA) here in Taiwan and their international counterparts would be severely disrupted, and some might even say severed beyond repair. Nonetheless, the borderless restriction was nothing but a momentary setback. The Engineers in Action team quickly became resourceful with virtual outlets and activities to overcome the constraints of borderless interaction to keep the momentum going for a never-ending source of ideas and resources for field work improvision and improvement. It was at this moment that the Engineers in Action team returned to the field with an accumulated momentum and experience from past projects. In the summer of 2020, they took this unhindered source of energy to the Dongyue tribe in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County, through partnerships with local patrons, engaged in the protection of the natural environment of the beautiful community and invested a lot in environmental science education. Let's look at the effort and outcome of the collaboration between the EIA team and the Dongyue Tribe during the summer of 2020!

Teachers and Students of the Engineers in Action Team built a fish-vegetable symbiotic system at Dong'ao Elementary School, Dongyue Tribe, Nan'ao Township, Yilan County

Sustainable use of tribal water resources; Use of the Cold Springs that go beyond sightseeing

From the beginning of time, water has always been a precious resource for the sustenance of life. Although vitally important, it is often abused. The EIA team had many communications with their partners in Dong'ao in hopes to make proper planning for the sustainable use of the water resources of the Dongyue Tribe and to bring light to its educational significance. The Dongyue Cold Spring, which is proprietary of the Dongyue village, is a magnet for tourists every year, coming for sole purpose of leisure, which can be viewed as a positive contribution to the community. However, due to the lack of comprehensive planning and management, the increasing number of tourists has affected the water quality of the cold spring as well as the surrounding environment. One of the ways in which the EIA team combatted this issue was by introducing cold spring water to the school campus as to create ecological channels and restore the local ecology so that school children can interact with the Cold Spring.

The introduction of the cold spring water to the school campus as well as creating ecological channels were all initiatives to allow children of the Dongyue tribe to better understand the preciousness of the natural environment and raise their awareness of protecting the Cold Spring environment. As the ecosystem is gradually taking shape, children will be led to conduct ecological research in a scientific way as to enable them to understand the ecological environment in a better way. With regards to the ecological channels, two hydrophilic channels were built using the cold spring water. In this way, tribal residents, including children, and tourist alike can enjoy the recreational facilities that were established by the EIA team.

Construction of ecological hydrophilic channels as to incorporate water from the Dongyue Cold Spring to the inner community and school campus

The Dong'ao Primary School in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County had already set up a fish-vegetable symbiotic system, however, the system's circulatory system had to be calibrated as to effectively circulate the local water resources and to pass the fishpond wastewater through the system as to effectively reduce river pollution. Consequently, through this project, the original system was reconceptualized and the new version was implemented. By introducing cold spring water into the fishpond, the hope was to create a sustainable symbiotic system as well as provide an educational avenue for the children within the community. Expectations were that the newly implemented system would provide educational material for teaching as well as provide a practical application for environmental science education where students can use this knowledge both at home and in future projects.

During the construction and renovation process, the EIA team took photos as to illustrate the overall process, hoping that the construction methods and principles would be easily comprehended by the younger generation. The idea of keeping the children incorporated in every step was always at the forefront of the project. Using easy-to-understand pictures and texts would make children more interested in the planning process. Being very diligent by using simple and easy ways to complete tasks regarding the fish-vegetable symbiotic system was a measure taken as to pull the interest of local children.

The Engineers in Action Team testing the aquaponics systems

New Technology Implementation Workshop: Let the totem of the tribe bloom in 3D and Lei Sculpture

During the summer of 2020, the EIA's team held multiple workshops which included 3D printing workshops, laser engraving workshops and thematic foreign language camps. The hope was that through the implementation of 3D printing and laser engraving, children's creativity and tribal aesthetics would be put into practice. In the workshop, tribal children combined cultural characteristics of the Taiya tribe with 3D printing to present new technologies. Children participating in the workshop were able to differentiate among different machinery and explore their own world of curiosity through new technology.

The EIA team and local partners look forward to the fact that in the future, when doing community building projects, children will feel more involved and identify more with their own culture. They will practice the ideas and creativity of their land and tribe with new technology. Follow-up students will design each neighborhood tribe door's totem, practicing their laser engraving skills to give full play to their imagination while maintaining distinct characteristics of each tribe.

All implementations and activities in the Dong'ao site are first communicated with each stakeholder as to improve the local resident's understanding and recognition of the subsequent implementation content and activities. During the implementation period, residents raised their concerns and interacted with the Engineers in Action students. This nonstop communication channel was important as locals always had the opportunity to understand the relevant changes and adjustments were made where necessary.

2020 Summer 3D printing workshop camp held in Dong'ao Elementary School

 

Online conference discussion: Though the distance is far, yet their hearts are still so close

Although the pandemic has restricted physical interaction and put-up borders between local and international parties, it cannot hinder the passion that each party has for this project. Because of the pandemic here in Taiwan, multinational teams could not commute to activity sites to implement their projects, however, via online meetings, members of both parties were able to review and understand the projects implemented in respective sites within the recent years. Online presentations were used by local teams here in Taiwan to report the implementation strategies to the other teams in Indonesia and Vietnam and vice versa. The care for each project never wavered as each team learned about the relevant developments in the field in each respective country. It is true that the pandemic had greatly narrowed down the field that each team could be exposed to, restricting each team to a reduced workspace in their respective field area, however, with the combined energy and resources of past, present and new team members, there wasn't a boundary that held them back from achieving their goal. Similarly, to Yingke's recent Dong'ao Cold spring after potholes had formed in them, water never stopped flowing, such is the resilience of the Engineers in Action team.

Implementation Strategies exchange with Indonesian and Vietnamese collaborative schools (Sabaya University of Technology, Vediamandara Catholic University and University of Kent) 2021/01/09