Both a Food Production Source and a Biological Habitat - A Green Conservation Feast from Farm-to-Table

201810/25
        Farmlands are food production sources as well as biological habitats, choosing the right agricultural products will not only provide safety and health, but will also protect biodiversity and a sustainable environment. The Forestry Bureau Conservation Station (No.22, 24, Lane 203, Jinshan South Road Section 2, Taipei City) will be launching “Your Dinner Table, My Livelihood - Our New Green Consumption Movement” special exhibition from now until March 25, 2019. Environment-friendly ingredients for the dinner table are used as a medium to tell the stories of eco-friendly farming practices and animal conservation in Taiwan, to let the public understand the close relationship between agricultural production and wildlife, in turn, through their actions support the farmers to conserve the farmland ecology and establish a harmonious and symbiotic homeland for man and nature.

　　Based on the everyday "food on the table" as the starting point, this exhibition explains the relationship between agricultural products and the ecological environment. The three main themes display the “Farmland Ecosystem Conservation", "Farmers’ Stories on Eco-Friendly Production", and "Meaning of the Green Conservation Label". The themes introduce the results of the “Green Conservation” agricultural product label promoted by the Forestry Bureau in six regions including the Emerald Green Treefrog of Pinglin District, New Taipei; the Watercock of Jhuangwei Township, Yilan; the Leopard Cat of Zhongliao Township, Nantou; Moltrecht's Minnow of Puli Township; the Pheasant-Tailed Jacana of Guantian District, Tainan; and the Blue-Banded Crow Butterfly of Maolin District, Kaohsiung. Lively and vivid photos and captions, displays of eco-friendly farming products, and film-viewing are paired with the exhibition venue’s interactive experience of which the design was based on the dinner table food ingredients, so that the public can learn about the  eco-friendly farming practices used by the farmers in order to take care of the land, animals, and plants.

　　In addition, the exhibition also launched a multimedia interactive mini-game, "Understanding the Green Conservation Label", to teach the consumers to select and purchase eco-friendly agricultural products and support green conservation agricultural products through making actual purchases. Not only will this enable consumers to choose healthy and safe food, but it can also help to provide shelter to wildlife that use farmlands as their home. Both you and I can become vanguards in ecological conservation! The public can take pictures with the environmentally-friendly cultivation farmland illustration background when they take part in the experience after visiting the exhibition, they will also be able to leave a message of encouragement to the farmers that use environmentally-friendly farming practices.

　　The Forestry Bureau has long collaborated with the Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation to promote the “Green Conservation Label” and mentor farmers in the biodiversity farmland hotspots not to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, as well as take into account the environmental sustainability and biodiversity in the production process. Up to now, 278 applications have been approved and certified by the Green Conservation Label, covering an area of ​​420 hectares, and sheltering and conserving 39 wildlife species. For example, the Green Conservation Label tea farmers of Pinglin introduced in this exhibition no longer uses pesticides, while the blue plastic drums that were originally used to dilute pesticides have also been converted to serve other functions. When filled with water, the drums become the home of the emerald green treefrog. Both the treefrogs’ habitat and the water source of the Greater Taipei area are now protected. The Green Conservation Label farmers of Guantian no longer use poisoned grains, with the restoration of an environmentally-friendly and clean habitat, the pheasant-tailed jacanas can now roam around safely in the water caltrop fields. To protect the winter habitat of the blue-banded crows, the mango farmers of Maolin have reduced the use of pesticides. Through the re-emergence of the magical scenery of a butterfly valley, it has also revived the local economy, ecology, and tribal culture.

　　The Forestry Bureau said that in order to promote the Green Conservation Label and let more people understand its significance, the Forestry Bureau Conservation Station will be holding 10 special sessions of the " Our New Green Consumption Movement" event during the exhibition period, which will include face-to-face meetings with local small farmers, green conservation food ingredients DIY, hand-made experience courses, and reading of green picture books. A wide variety of interesting activities will be used to let the public experience the farm-to-table food agricultural education, as well as support farmers implementing toxin-free farming practices through consumption, to achieve the environmentally-friendly land and ecological protection goals. Online booking and registration is essential for participation in the event sessions. The detailed event time and activity content will be announced on the “Forestry Bureau - TW Forest” official Facebook page before each session, interested members of the public can keep an eye out for the latest information on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/twforest/ and register to participate in their preferred sessions.

Exhibition Information
“Your Dinner Table, My Livelihood - Our New Green Consumption Movement” special exhibition will be running from now until March 25, 2019, at the Forestry Bureau Conservation Station (No.22, 24, Lane 203, Jinshan South Road Section 2, Taipei City); opening hours are from Wednesdays to Sundays at 9:00 - 12: 00; 13:00 - 17:00 (Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays).