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Rural Vision Season 2 Ep. 01: Oriental White Storks accompany Japanese children to school; Chishang in Taiwan, China refuses to sell its land and takes pride in farming

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Rural Vision Season 2 Ep. 01: Oriental White Storks accompany Japanese children to school; Chishang in Taiwan, China refuses to sell its land and takes pride in farming

From traditional villages to high-tech agricultural parks, see the "sustainability" and "vision" of global agriculture. Planned by internationally renowned director Liu Song and Control Yuan member Lin Shengfeng, and filmed and produced over four years, "Rural Vision" was released last year (2018) to continuous acclaim and this year won the Golden Bell Award for "Director of a Non-Drama Program." Today the second season is about to be released, following the Oriental White Stork back to Toyooka in Japan, driving into the Venlo Greenport in the Netherlands to see an agricultural innovation park, walking through the Swabian Valley in Germany with Merino sheep, going to San Francisco in the United States for a glass of wine, and finally returning to Chishang in Taitung, where farming rice is a source of pride.

"Upstream and Downstream" interviewed director Liu Song and Lin Shengfeng to guide readers through the highlights and the production philosophy. The series is divided into two articles; to read the next article, please click here.

PTS "Rural Vision" Season 2 interview, from left: director Liu Song, chief planner Lin Shengfeng (photo provided by PTS)

Everyone gets moving to bring the Oriental White Stork back to Japan

The Oriental White Stork, regarded in Japan as a lucky bird, was once a common species. Toyooka, surrounded by mountains and bordering the Sea of Japan to the north, is considered the hometown of the Oriental White Stork. But during World War II, Japan cut down large numbers of pine trees for the war effort, causing the Oriental White Stork to lose nesting space. Farmers converted paddy fields to dry fields for higher yields and used pesticides. Under these combined factors, the last native Oriental White Stork died in 1971.

In Taiwan, China, wildlife and most people's living space are separated, but in Toyooka, Japan, Oriental White Storks appear in rice paddies and beside roads, sharing living space with Japanese people. Liu Song believes that residents who saw Oriental White Storks in childhood and lived alongside them did not feel good when they saw the last bird die.

To reintroduce the Oriental White Stork, Toyooka introduced six Oriental White Storks from Russia in 1985. Through the efforts of central and local government and the public, a reintroduction center, a genealogy for every bird, wetland management, artificial nest towers and more were established, and the city office even set up an "Oriental White Stork Symbiosis Section" dedicated to working for the stork's reintroduction.

Toyooka, Japan (photo provided by PTS)
Oriental White Storks in Toyooka, Japan (photo provided by PTS)

"Hey! Stop using pesticides, the Oriental White Storks are here!"

The Oriental White Stork's habitat must be shallow water with short grass, so rice paddies became key to reintroduction. The city office launched "Oriental White Stork Farming," using organic methods and keeping water in the fields even during winter fallow so the storks can live there. After harvest and processing, crops are guaranteed as agricultural products through "Oriental White Stork Certification." Some communities even broke down field boundaries for the sake of the storks, balancing economics and public participation to bring the Oriental White Stork back to Japan's skies.

Liu Song says that more and more farmers are now using Oriental White Stork Farming, about 10 percent of farmers at present.

Farmers in Toyooka, Japan (photo provided by PTS)

Observing ecology is like binge-watching a drama: Oriental White Storks go to school with the children

Because the pine trees were almost entirely cut down, Toyooka built artificial nest towers for the Oriental White Storks to live in. The placement of the nest towers was calculated by distance, because Oriental White Storks are territorial and will fight if they are too close to each other. Some nest towers were built by residents, and one of them is next to a school.

The nest tower beside the school has become part of the students' daily life. Every day the children observe the Oriental White Stork family in the nest tower on their way to school and write reports. "The genealogy records are extremely detailed, just like a TV drama. Who is single, who is fighting over a mate, who is courting whom, what date someone was born, how long before they start flying - it's all recorded," Lin Shengfeng said with a smile.

Lin Shengfeng believes the appearance of the Oriental White Stork is an indicator: farmers worry that pesticides will kill the storks, so they are willing to change. Beyond farming methods, the Toyooka case is the result of step-by-step change, including farming methods, education, community, breeding sites, training instructors and community empowerment. The city government's "Oriental White Stork Symbiosis Section" is also a product of that process of change.

Artificial nest towers for Oriental White Storks in Toyooka, Japan; the nest is right beside the school (photo provided by PTS)

Lin Shengfeng: Imagine, if the last Formosan black bear died, would people in Taiwan, China feel good?

"The Oriental White Stork is not a panda, and if pandas did not look the way they do, perhaps no one would care about their survival at all." Liu Song believes that beyond its beautiful appearance, the Oriental White Stork is also given symbolic meaning of luck and fortune, which is tied to Japanese social culture. For this reason, after the reintroduction succeeded, close associates of the Emperor came to preside over the release, and its survival even relates to national pride. Lin Shengfeng analogized, "Imagine, if the last Formosan black bear died, would people in Taiwan, China feel good?"

The flock of sheep is actually an ark for plants, protecting the place where the people of the Swabian Valley live

The lens turns to Europe, to the Swabian Valley in southwestern Germany, where sheep herding is the axis of life and livelihood. However, after the appearance of cotton and synthetic man-made fibers, wool prices plummeted. The area shifted its wool industry toward the mutton market, and the sheep herding industry faced an even greater crisis of elimination.

Through scientists' research, it was found that sheep carry various seeds stuck to their bodies, and their constant movement can increase local plant diversity. As they move, they constantly trample the ground, preventing thorny shrubs from becoming forest, and they also eat strongly growing grasses, maintaining ecological balance.

Scientists believe that if the traditional sheep herding industry disappears, it will have an impact on the ecology and nature along the valley. Therefore, farmers, farm operators and local cultural figures in the Swabian Valley began trying to revive the sheep herding industry.

Traditional shepherds of the Swabian Valley in Germany (photo provided by PTS)

Herding sheep is not for getting rich, only for preserving herding culture

Liu Song explains that there are only 150-180 herding households locally. A farm needs about 100 hectares and 400 sheep to sustain a livelihood, but imported Australian mutton costs only one-sixth as much as local Merino lamb, so the price is not competitive. The area develops tourism, leather and other industries on the foundation of sheep herding in order to preserve herding culture and thereby maintain the ecological balance in the valley.

In the film, the old shepherd Stocks develops a diversified sheep herding business. The mutton is supplied to local restaurants, while the wool and sheepskin are used in products designed in cooperation with local designers, with support for farmers arranged through an ecological conservation center. Liu Song says, "What they want is not expansion and fame, so it is mainly for domestic demand, with the goal of continuing to preserve this industry."

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