The 2018 Eco-Campus Teacher Professional Development Workshop was held at Taipei Nanmen Municipal Junior High School on July 13, 2018. The event was a joint collaboration between the US EPA and Taiwan EPA. This year, the event invited Ms. Kim Martinez of the National Wildlife Federation to share her eco-school experiences and conduct student leadership training for eco-campus schools. In addition, actual case studies, practical methods, learning tools were also introduced to teachers from all around Taiwan. In order for the teachers to know more about two new eco-school pathways of “Watersheds, Oceans and Wetlands” and “Learning about Forests”, the workshop invited Mr. Lin Sheng-Ji from the Taiwan Association for Marine Environmental Education and Dr. Jin Heng Biao from the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute to talk about the ocean and forests of Taiwan. Over 60 participants made up of teachers from elementary, junior high, and senior high schools and staffs of local government gathered at this year’s event.

The Taiwan-U.S. Eco-Campus Partnership program was launched by the Taiwan EPA and US EPA in 2014. After being implemented for five years in Taiwan, more than 360 schools have been registered as eco-campus schools. By the end of June 2018, 130 schools have achieved the bronze award, 70 schools got the silver award, and 3 schools gained the top Green Flag award. In the future, the program aims to have more international collaboration with schools abroad and promote environmental education together.