Campus Ecosystem and Surrounding Communities
NTU collaborates with local communities to conserve, restore, and maintain shared land ecosystems both within and beyond university-managed land. These partnerships engage local residents, community organizations, alumni, and other stakeholders in biodiversity conservation, habitat restoration, ecological monitoring, forest management, and long-term environmental stewardship.
Through these initiatives, NTU promotes community-based ecosystem management, enabling local communities and the University to share responsibility for the conservation and sustainable management of urban green spaces, forest habitats, and other shared terrestrial ecosystems.
1. Community Forestry and Joint Management of Forest Ecosystems
NTU collaborates with local communities surrounding the NTU Experimental Forest to jointly conserve and sustainably manage shared forest ecosystems. Since 2010, the NTU Experimental Forest has implemented its Community Forestry Program, which promotes bottom-up, community-based participation in forest management and builds long-term partnerships between the University and local communities.
Through the program, NTU provides funding, professional support, and capacity building to community organizations, while local residents actively participate in natural resource surveys and monitoring, forest patrols, habitat creation and maintenance, vegetation restoration, forest fire prevention, watershed and soil conservation, and ecological tourism. These activities integrate community development with forest conservation and enable local communities to share responsibility for the management and maintenance of surrounding forest ecosystems.
In 2024, NTU supported eight local organizations through the program. For example, the Kalibuan Community Development Association in Xinyi Township collaborates with NTU Experimental Forest on forest patrols and environmental facility maintenance, helping prevent illegal logging, hunting, and other forms of environmental degradation. The Dongpuliuxi Environmental and Ecological Conservation Association focuses on ecological interpretation, environmental education, and strengthening community capacity for natural resource surveys.
In 2025, NTU continued to implement the Community Forestry Program with local community organizations. In total, NTU has provided funding of up to 1,460,000NTD to nearby communities for runing varies ecosystems projects.
Through these partnerships, NTU and local communities jointly maintain forest habitats, monitor natural resources, prevent ecosystem degradation, and strengthen community capacity for long-term, locally based conservation and sustainable forest management.
2. Community Participation in Campus Biodiversity Stewardship
NTU also engages alumni and members of the wider community in the stewardship of biodiversity on its Main Campus. Since 2007, the NTU Visitor Center has recruited external community members and alumni as campus volunteers, including individuals interested in campus ecology. In 2025, NTU further established a dedicated Ecological Interpretation Group within its campus volunteer program.
Ecological volunteers receive training in campus ecosystems, plant and animal ecology, and field identification of local flora and fauna. They subsequently provide ecological interpretation and public engagement at key campus habitats, including the Liugong Canal Ecological Pond, Drunken Moon Lake, and the tropical vegetation of Fu Garden. Their activities raise awareness of native and alien species, aquatic habitats, and the ecological value of the Main Campus.
A key public outcome of this stewardship is the organization of ecological tours and guided interpretation activities. Through these tours, volunteers introduce students, alumni, visitors, and other community members to campus habitats, species, ecological processes, and ongoing conservation efforts. The tours make NTU’s biodiversity stewardship visible to the public and translate routine monitoring and habitat care into opportunities for environmental education and community participation.
In addition, NTU's campus volunteer system includes environmental patrol and stewardship activities, with volunteers supporting the ecological protection of Drunken Moon Lake and reporting environmental issues across the campus. Together, these initiatives provide opportunities for students, alumni, and members of the wider community to participate in the long-term stewardship, ecological interpretation, and public understanding of NTU's shared urban ecosystems.
3. Restoring Biodiversity in Urban Residential Communities
NTU extends its biodiversity expertise beyond university-managed land by collaborating with local residential communities to restore and maintain shared urban green spaces. In 2024, the NTU Experimental Forest entered into a partnership under the “Sustainable Ecological Nature-Positive Growth Initiative” to integrate biodiversity restoration into residential community gardens. At the time of the partnership, four residential communities were participating in the initiative.
The collaboration applies NTU's expertise in forestry and biodiversity to the design and long-term management of community gardens, vegetation, and ecological ponds, with the aim of creating habitats that support a greater diversity of plants and animals, including aquatic organisms, birds, and butterflies.
The participating communities have dedicated landscaping teams responsible for the long-term maintenance of their shared green spaces. Through collaboration with NTU Experimental Forest, these teams strengthen their knowledge and skills in ecological landscape design, implementation, vegetation management, maintenance, and community engagement. The initiative therefore goes beyond conventional urban greening by incorporating biodiversity restoration and nature-positive management into the ongoing stewardship of shared community ecosystems.
4. NTU Campus Tree Protection Project
There is a wide variety of trees on NTU campus, with more than 20,000 trees growing on the 40-hectare main campus. Each year, NTU makes great efforts in maintaining the campus landscape by trimming trees and lawns, replacing flowers, preventing and controlling pests and diseases, and treating or removing diseased plants. As an important green space for urban residents, NTU kicked off the “NTU Campus Tree Protection Project” in 2020, which solicited private donations to help with health inspections, pest prevention, and disease prevention of trees on campus as well as campus landscaping. Hopefully, the green assets on NTU campus will continue to flourish.
The Campus Tree Protection Project is highly supported by local communities since the campus is at the heart of Taipei's urban area, where shade and biodiversity are important to the community. Local residents and alumni will donate to the project. And NTU will update the trees' status to donors.
5. Language of Trees: NTU Tree Query System
To increase the interest and interaction of the Campus Tree Protection Project, NTU "Language of Trees: was created. The beautiful landscape on NTU campus shows different features in different seasons and has attracted visitors all year round. To help visitors identify trees that are protected and know which trees are in their best time of the year, all of the trees are labeled and listed on the Language of NTU Trees website, which provides a query system open to the public. The "Language of Trees" platform provides users with an intereactive map locating all campus tree with addtional information.
6. NTU Firefly Restoration Project
NTU kickstarted a restoration project for aquatic fireflies in 2021, with financial support from the Class of 1966 alumni and 1,200 larvae of Aquatica ficta generously donated by the Taipei Zoo. With the help of experts from NTU’s Department of Entomology, Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture and Experimental Farm, a clean, aquatic natural environment was prepared as a habitat for the larvae in the Crop Specimen Park near the planted areas along Zhoushan Road. At the end of August, 2021, river snails were released into the habitat as the food source for the fireflies, which would form a natural food chain. The firefly larvae were first released in December 2021 and later in February 2022. Along with lectures on the ecology of fireflies, participants of the events learned about the significance of firefly restoration in addition to biodiversity on campus. Hopefully, the restoration of fireflies will make people understand the importance of ecological sustainability. By spring 2022, the shining fireflies will be seen in NTU’s night sky.
4. Community Forestry and Joint Management of Forest Ecosystems
NTU collaborates with local communities surrounding the NTU Experimental Forest to jointly conserve and sustainably manage shared forest ecosystems. Since 2010, the NTU Experimental Forest has implemented its Community Forestry Program, which promotes bottom-up, community-based participation in forest management and builds long-term partnerships between the University and local communities.
Through the program, NTU provides funding, professional support, and capacity building to community organizations, while local residents actively participate in natural resource surveys and monitoring, forest patrols, habitat creation and maintenance, vegetation restoration, forest fire prevention, watershed and soil conservation, and ecological tourism. These activities integrate community development with forest conservation and enable local communities to share responsibility for the management and maintenance of surrounding forest ecosystems.
In 2024, NTU supported eight local organizations through the program. For example, the Kalibuan Community Development Association in Xinyi Township collaborates with NTU Experimental Forest on forest patrols and environmental facility maintenance, helping prevent illegal logging, hunting, and other forms of environmental degradation. The Dongpuliuxi Environmental and Ecological Conservation Association focuses on ecological interpretation, environmental education, and strengthening community capacity for natural resource surveys.
Through these partnerships, NTU and local communities jointly maintain forest habitats, monitor natural resources, prevent ecosystem degradation, and strengthen community capacity for long-term, locally based conservation and sustainable forest management.
5. Community Participation in Campus Biodiversity Stewardship
NTU also engages alumni and members of the wider community in the stewardship of biodiversity on its Main Campus. Since 2007, the NTU Visitor Center has recruited external community members and alumni as campus volunteers, including individuals interested in campus ecology. In 2025, NTU further established a dedicated Ecological Interpretation Group within its campus volunteer program.
Ecological volunteers receive training in campus ecosystems, plant and animal ecology, and field identification of local flora and fauna. They subsequently provide ecological interpretation and public engagement at key campus habitats, including the Liugong Canal Ecological Pond, Drunken Moon Lake, and the tropical vegetation of Fu Garden. Their activities raise awareness of native and alien species, aquatic habitats, and the ecological value of the Main Campus.
A key public outcome of this stewardship is the organization of ecological tours and guided interpretation activities. Through these tours, volunteers introduce students, alumni, visitors, and other community members to campus habitats, species, ecological processes, and ongoing conservation efforts. The tours make NTU’s biodiversity stewardship visible to the public and translate routine monitoring and habitat care into opportunities for environmental education and community participation.
In addition, NTU's campus volunteer system includes environmental patrol and stewardship activities, with volunteers supporting the ecological protection of Drunken Moon Lake and reporting environmental issues across the campus. Together, these initiatives provide opportunities for students, alumni, and members of the wider community to participate in the long-term stewardship, ecological interpretation, and public understanding of NTU's shared urban ecosystems.
6. Restoring Biodiversity in Urban Residential Communities
NTU extends its biodiversity expertise beyond university-managed land by collaborating with local residential communities to restore and maintain shared urban green spaces. In 2024, the NTU Experimental Forest entered into a partnership under the “Sustainable Ecological Nature-Positive Growth Initiative” to integrate biodiversity restoration into residential community gardens. At the time of the partnership, four residential communities were participating in the initiative.
The collaboration applies NTU's expertise in forestry and biodiversity to the design and long-term management of community gardens, vegetation, and ecological ponds, with the aim of creating habitats that support a greater diversity of plants and animals, including aquatic organisms, birds, and butterflies.
The participating communities have dedicated landscaping teams responsible for the long-term maintenance of their shared green spaces. Through collaboration with NTU Experimental Forest, these teams strengthen their knowledge and skills in ecological landscape design, implementation, vegetation management, maintenance, and community engagement. The initiative therefore goes beyond conventional urban greening by incorporating biodiversity restoration and nature-positive management into the ongoing stewardship of shared community ecosystems.
