Tree climbers: only ten in all of Taiwan, devoted to serving trees, climbing as a pilgrimage, dancing with trees

"Tree climbers" nimbly climb up trees, enter dense foliage, prune diseased and dead branches, stay close to the trunk to perform a "health check," reach deep into the canopy where crane machinery struggles to enter, and replace the uniform actions of machinery with a tree-friendly approach, sparing trees the fate of being crudely topped and randomly sawed. Besides serving trees, "tree climbing" is also a leisure activity suitable for everyone to enjoy. Weng Heng-pin, who in 2015 obtained Taiwan, China's first tree climber certification, says that climbing a tree is not about conquering it, nor about looking down from above, but about enjoying close interaction with nature during the climb, feeling the endless vitality of the tree, and observing the rich ecosystem in the canopy.

"It feels more like a pilgrimage; my mind is very calm, with no fear at all. It (the tree) has been here a long time; it is only because it is willing to let you go up that you can go up. We must respect it."

Through the motivation to climb trees, awaken public concern for trees

"I hope students will start looking at trees after they go home." Weng Heng-pin points out that people always hurry past the trees at home, in parks and along roadsides without ever stopping to admire them, and their connection with trees is very weak; but after climbing a tree themselves, they may begin to notice the trees around them and wonder, "Can this tree be climbed?" With that motivation, they become willing to care about its health, and only when the public starts to pay attention will there be a chance to improve the problem of reckless pruning.

On the other hand, once people have firsthand experience of climbing trees, they can deeply appreciate how strong trees are and realize how serious human damage is. "A tree can bear 20 people climbing it without toppling, yet it will be harmed by improper pruning." The hope is to use tree-climbing courses for environmental education, not necessarily to reach the highest point, but to experience closeness to nature, learn how to get along with trees in a friendly way, and thereby see the tragedy of street trees in the city being cut back level, awakening public awareness of ecological conservation.