Guandu Nature Park
Region
Asia
Country
Taiwan
Flyway
East Asian - Australasian flyway
Initiative
WLI Asia
A Star Wetland Centre!
Recognised in 2022 as a Star Wetland Visitor Centre. Find out more.
About
Funding support
The Wild Bird Society of Taipei raises about 80% of the funds needed to operate the Reserve through visitor income and private / corporate donations and the Taipei City Government provides the remaining 20% through various annual budgets and support of habitat management projects.
Number of staff
35 people across the 5 departments – Education, Environment, Promotion, Operating and Marketing.
Number of visitors
2015/157730 2016/133043 2017/122778
2018/121907(Jan-Nov)
Overall aims of the centre
Our mission is to educate all our visitors – school students, school teachers, families and corporations – through different activities about wetlands and so inspire them to protect the wetlands in Taiwan.
Description of the centre
Guandu Nature Park is situated in north Taiwain, at the junction of the Danshui and Keelung rivers, with Datun mountain to the northeast and Guanyin
Guandu visitor centre
mountain to the southwest.
The park is a biodiversity environment of about 57 hectares and divides into 3 parts – coastal area, education area and sustainable area; the landscape consists of woodland, streams, creeks, brackish ponds and rice paddies.
It is a major stopover site for migrating birds, especially waterfowl and shorebirds, and is an important wintering and breeding ground for many species; 229 species of birds have been observed qualifying this wetland as an Important Bird Area (IBA), recognised by Bird Life International.
There are over 830 species of animals, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, mammals, bristle worms, snails, crustaceans, and insects.
Size of site:57 hectares.
Work Areas
Main CEPA work areas
We have five programs for school students, including bird-watching, wetland ecosystem, investigation of wetland life and a special need children’s program. We also have overnight camps for children in summer and winter vacations.
There is a 2-day teacher training workshop program and a 2-hour outreach program. The visitor center exhibits talk about the history, ecosystem and location of Guandu and there is a studio and learning room.
Our programs are implemented through different kinds of activities such as Senses-using, Role Plays,
Demonstration, Investigations, Field trips, Games and Workshops.
We also have weekend programs, such as story-telling, artwork-diy, in-door interpretation and field-trips and rice-planting camp for families.
bird-watching, wetland ecosystem, investigation of wetland life and a special need children’s program. We also have overnight camps for children during summer vacations. These programs are implemented through different kinds of activities such as senses-using, role plays, demonstration, investigations, field trips, games, and workshops.
We also have weekend programs, such as story-telling, artwork-day, in-door interpretation and field-trips and rice-planting camp for families.
For corporate engagement, we provide habitat management participation programs for corporate employees to join.
We held the Guandu International Nature Art Festival and the International Bird-watching Festival in October -December.
In April we have the Guandu International Outdoor Sculpture Festival and the International Bird-watching Festival in December.
Top three successes
1. We develop several habitat management participation programs to engage the public, school, and corporates to get close to the wetland and learn its functions and values.
2. We work with Project WET International Foundation to develop water education in Taiwan and play an essential role in networking the educators around Taiwan and promoting the localization of teaching plans.
3. Our volunteers from the Wild Bird Society of Taipei and Guandu Nature Park fundamentally support the activities and programs. This volunteer management experience is worth sharing with other wetland center partners.
Top three challenges
1. As an NGO to manage Guandu Nature Park, we lack long-term stable funding resources and have an urgent need to improve our fundraising skills.
2. We are still under massive pressure of urban development which interferes the health of Guandu Wetland. It brings diverse challenges in our work of habitat management and wildlife conservation.
3. We lack enough international recognition in bringing in the support and resources through sharing, training and expert exchange.
Expertise
Interpretation techniques
Creating signage; site information; Producing written materials; Using audio-visual tools; Developing nature trails
Visitor centres
Managing / creating habitat; Running a visitor centre; Building / maintaining structures
Participation
Working with disabled people; Engaging hard-to-reach groups; Engaging young people; Engaging the local community;
Working with volunteers
Education and communication
Early years education; Delivering adult education; Working with primary schools; Lobbying / running campaigns; Working with secondary schools; Developing resources / materials
General
Assessing effectiveness; PR and marketing; Running effective administration; Fund-raising; Project planning.
Guandu wetland
Contact
Guandu Nature Park, 55 Guandu Road, Beitou District, Tapei City 112, Taiwan
T: +886-2-2858-7417
Ms. Lisa Pin-Hsiu Chou, Manager
Email: lisa@gd-park.org.tw
Website address: gd-park.org.tw