NCKU Mango Green Beauty Spot: A Demonstration of Coexistence and Mutual Prosperity with the Land Through Campus Material Recycling

Text, Photography, Illustration / Li Jiarong

Yesterday (the 18th), the "Mango Green Beauty Spot Cultivation Festival" event hosted by the NCKU Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, with the theme "Mutual Benefit and Coexistence with Large Trees - Post-Harvest Tree Thanksgiving Fertilizer" (Figure 1), invited Vice President Lin Congyi (Figure 2), NCKU faculty and students, and community residents to participate together, using NCKU campus leaf compost materials for planting, creating a demonstration of sustainable resource circulation, while also reducing waste removal and incineration carbon emissions.

And with that, it is complete. The scope of Hugelkultur can be as large as a plot of land like the Mango Green Beauty Spot, or as small as a residential balcony. As long as simple existing materials are used, ecological character can be easily added to the city.

Conclusion

The site for this implementation was chosen between large trees. On one hand, this is because shell ginger is a partial-sun plant; on the other hand, it is hoped that by creating this "fertilizer factory," the symbiotic fungi of the original large tree root system will be attracted to extend here to absorb nutrients, thereby attracting soil microorganisms such as roundworms, nematodes, earthworms, centipedes, and woodlice to form a food chain, and releasing nitrogen fertilizer as plant nutrients. Soil microorganisms can also loosen the soil, making them an indispensable good helper for planting.

After this planting, due to its own water-retention design, it only needs watering once a week, and no additional fertilizing is needed; only occasional supplementation with natural dead branches and fallen leaves is required. Perennial plants such as shell ginger need to wait half a year to one year before gradually growing strong, and afterward can be made into hydrosol, used for wrapping zongzi, making ropes, and other multifunctional uses. By creating the Mango Green Beauty Spot in the heart of the city this time, NCKU can not only bring people closer to one another and to nature, but also serve as an excellent venue for "food and agriculture education" and "interdisciplinary learning." We look forward to continued cultivation to create a demonstration base of coexistence and mutual prosperity with the land.