Kaohsiung City Chungshan Industrial & Commercial High School – Fallen Tree Recycling – From Typhoon Disaster to Sustainability

When nature unleashes a storm, leaving behind fallen branches, leaves, and fallen tree trunks, a natural disaster is not merely the end of a story, but may also be a new beginning. Walking on campus, touching those once proud and sheltering trees, now fallen and broken, not only allows students to see the destruction, but also prompts teachers and students to contemplate the possibilities of reconstruction and rebirth. Nature's scars may become the starting point for art, allowing life to continue in another form.

Following Typhoon Shantuo in 2014, the forest behind the school was severely damaged. The numerous fallen trees required over a week of collaborative cleanup by teachers and students, leading to the development of the course "Fallen Tree Regeneration – From Typhoon Disaster to Sustainability." Starting with the fallen trees on campus after the typhoon, these fallen trees are both remnants of the disaster and symbols of opportunity for rebirth. Students will explore the characteristics of fallen trees and natural plant materials on campus, learn processing knowledge and skills, cultivate an understanding of resource recycling, deepen their understanding of the impermanence and regeneration of life, practice SDG 12 "Responsible Consumption and Production," and demonstrate their professional integration of environmental care and design aesthetics. In addition to the "Masterpieces of Every Meal" program, which has been integrated across disciplines with art, mathematics, and culinary arts since the 2011-2012 academic year, this academic year's curriculum will further expand to include art, Chinese language, mathematics, biology, culinary arts (fruit and vegetable carving and platting), mechanical and electrical engineering (mechanical processing practice), horticulture (horticultural aesthetics), early childhood education (storytelling skills), environmental education, multicultural education, life education, SEL (self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision-making), and SDGs (responsible consumption and production, terrestrial ecology, and reducing inequality). We hope that this broader and more diverse curriculum will provide students with a richer experience.