Wetland restoration of Xizhou Ecological Community

Located downstream of Shihmen Reservoir, Xizhou Community is a place that even Daxi locals aren’t too familiar with. Surrounded on both sides by Dahan River, in former times, people required a boat to arrive at Daxi Main Street.

Twenty to thirty years ago, this relatively remote corner of Taiwan became a paradise for the illegal mining industry. The excavated earth and rocks left potholes that became rubbish dumps, and several artificial lakes were formed over many years; however, because of the chaotic state of the area, it was a place no one dared to go. A member of the association responsible for the wetland restoration, Lin Yu-wei (林育緯), said the first jobs were removing accumulated garbage and creating walkways throughout the parkland. Following this, zones were created - a firefly zone, a butterfly zone, a bird-watching zone, and a turtle-rearing zone - and various shrubs were planted to support their growth. He said the association is striving to promote ecological restoration that involves no human interference apart for maintenance work.

以下為中文對照

位於石門水庫下游的溪洲社區，是個連大溪在地人都不太清楚的地方，由於被大漢溪兩邊包圍，在過去的年代，必須撐船才能到大溪的街上。

二、三十年前，在比較沒有人的偏僻角落，變成了盜採砂石業者的天堂，土石挖走後留下的坑洞，被傾到了許多的垃圾，日積月累形成了幾個人工湖泊，由於雜亂，是個沒有人敢來的地方。協會成員林育緯表示，一開始是做清除垃圾的破壞工作，接者造路並將園區規劃成螢火蟲餐廳、蝴蝶區、賞鳥區及賞龜區，栽種植物讓它生長，他表示協會努力在推動的一件事是生態復育，並盡可能讓它自然生長，不以太多的人力去干涉，但會去做維護的動作。