Houtong Ecological Education Park Gives New Life to an Abandoned Elementary School

Text. Photo / Kuo Chen-wei

A few days ago, I visited a government department manager together with Jian-cheng, the manager of the 248 Agriculture and Farming Market. After hearing our plans and vision for the "Houtong Ecological Education Park," he said: "Naive!" Just as when Lady Gaga calls her fans "Little Monsters" and they respond with screams and shouts, when I heard this guy say that, I was happy too. (Even though he is not my idol, and the tone of "naive" was definitely not meant as praise.)

The "Houtong Ecological Education Park" was originally the old campus of Houtong Elementary School, located beside "Dacukeng Creek," the birthplace of gold mining in Taiwan, China.

Because of the mudslide disaster brought by Typhoon Xangsane in the 89th year of the Republic of China (2000), the new campus was completed in the 94th year of the Republic of China (2005), and the school relocated; it has now been 7 years since then. Although the school buildings have lost their educational function, they are actually quite lively. There are teenagers who come to break windows and burn off excess energy, homeless people with nothing to do who drink and go crazy, petty thieves who steal public property and sell it, and most of all passersby who just use the toilet and leave. Apart from residents who grow vegetables on the hill behind the school, almost no one comes here, and it is ignored by all. The degree of "tidiness" of the environment goes without saying. Fortunately, the natural ecology here has therefore suffered little damage.

The dawn before dusk, Dacukeng Creek at the entrance of the park, the birthplace of gold mining in Taiwan, China.

Traces of the mudslide

The park began its application in November of last year, and the administrative process was only confirmed in May, but without an official document of approval we did not dare move in rashly. However, in order to train his own guiding ability, Rumeng began leading free "Getting to Know Houtong tours" in May, and I joined one of the sessions; there was only me in that session.

A train passing in front of Shuo-ren Elementary School at Sandiaoling, crossing through vegetable gardens planted by residents.

That day, I tapped my EasyCard at Taipei Main Station and took the electric train; it took about 50 minutes to reach Houtong Railway Station. When I was in high school, I had come here to sketch and take photographs. Back then I brought a traditional SLR camera bought with money saved from a part-time job at a gas station, and also a four-panel drawing board. It rained all day, so painting watercolors was simply impossible; in the end the drawing board was used to block the rain. I came once more after that, also in high school; among several classmates there was one surnamed Li, and I do not know why, but whenever he was around, eating was free and drinks came too.

When I came before, even if it rained I still thought Houtong was beautiful. This time I felt very nostalgic, and of course it was beautiful too, but I always felt that some construction had been blown out of proportion, there were more people and cats, and the atmosphere of beauty from before had been diluted.

Natural scenery and terrain between Houtong and Sandiaoling

Rumeng and I met at Houtong Station; this was the third time we met.

The first time, at the Guling Street Avant-Garde Theatre, we did not talk much; the next day I saw the news that he and Yuxin had registered their marriage. The second time was at the 248 Agriculture and Farming Market; I said I wanted to do organic farming, and we talked a lot. That day someone came to shoot a documentary, and friends from the mainland also visited; he told me to think it over and then arranged a third meeting, in Houtong, which was also the third day after his second daughter Yang Xiaotian was born.

We first rode scooters to the old campus of Houtong Elementary School. He said: the market would come here to use "environmentally friendly methods" to create a community education library, a teaching farm close to the land, and Houtong cultural and ecological tours.

We walked around the campus; it was very beautiful, but a kind of decadent beauty, and there were still homeless people sleeping. Not disturbing their dreams, we then went to the entrance of the Jinzibei Old Trail, the Yuanshanzi Flood Diversion Tunnel... all the way to Shuo-ren Elementary School at Sandiaoling. We chatted happily the whole way, and later, sitting on chairs in the corridor of Shuo-ren Elementary School, we talked even more. "Do you want to come to Houtong and give it a try?" he said. "Sure!" I said.

Inside the park, the kindergarten playground

Last month I was an outsider, and now I am an outsider on the inside. On August 1, the park and I set foot together on the starting point of a "dream." By day we do physical labor and farm; by night we handle administration and read materials. From a ruin to becoming a sustainably run ecological education park, how much time, resources, and manpower it will take, it is not that we have never thought about it; it is just that we believe even more that "when people move toward a 'correct' goal, every force will help!"

Naive? I do not know.

But I believe that the environmentally friendly "Houtong Ecological Education Park" is absolutely a "correct" goal. We are on our way!

Clearing an environment that could be dangerous

Turning the soil, preparing to begin farming

Planting the first crop, Thai basil