In response to World Earth Day 422, the Department of Architecture of the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) and the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute cooperated to establish Taiwan's first "Campus Fern Experiment Area - Fern Colors Campus" at NTUT. There are 24 families and 62 species of ferns on the campus. Except for two species of horticultural species, the other 60 species of ferns are native to Taiwan, and the "Fern Teaching Area" will be set up first, and then reproduced throughout the entire campus and the surrounding communities in the future. By combining scientific environmental records and fern growth research, a gene bank of ferns will be built to make the city more suitable for living organisms and to make urban ecology a solution to biodiversity in the future.

Professor Chih-Hong Haung from the Department of Architecture at National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) explained that the "Fern Green Campus" initiative aims to establish a sustainable campus gene bank. This initiative, grounded in the concept of systemic ecological planning, integrates the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to enhance the biodiversity of NTUT's campus. Unlike most university campuses that primarily feature landscape plants, NTUT focuses on creating a gene bank for Taiwanese ferns. He expressed gratitude to the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, Ren'ai Township in Nantou, Tengyun Village in Wanhua District, and the Machangding Community Development Association in Wanhua District, Taipei, for donating various rehabilitated ferns. Notably, these donations include numerous rare and even endangered fern species, promoting the propagation of Taiwan's native plants.

Yao-moan Huang, a distinguished research fellow at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, stated that ferns can be found throughout Taiwan, even thriving in the highly developed urban areas of Taipei. On Taipei Tech's campus, you can see 18 species of ferns from the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, 7 species from the Ren'ai Township in Nantou, and 1 species from Tengyun Village in Wanhua District, Taipei. Ferns contribute to urban biodiversity and help restore urban ecological landscapes.

Cheng-Chen Chen, the head of Taipei Tech's Department of Architecture, mentioned that the development of Taipei Tech's ecological campus dates back to around 1980. In recent years, the Department of Architecture has actively promoted healthy building practices and ecological campus education, developing a unique local campus landscape. Fifteen years ago, then Dean of the College of Design, Jen-Hui Tsai, pioneered the removal of campus walls, the restoration of campus water system wetlands, and the construction of a green gate at the southwest corner of the Design Building at the intersection of Zhongxiao E. Rd. and Xinsheng S. Rd.. This initiative showcased the natural process of ecological succession in the city, enriching biodiversity.

The "Fern Experimental Park," jointly established by the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and the NTUT Department of Architecture, not only serves a landscape purpose but also imparts a significant mission to the architectural planning teaching unit. With the guidance of fern plant experts, the goal is to integrate experiments with architectural planning to discover practical applications for these native Taiwanese ferns in future building and landscape designs. Additionally, through the University Social Responsibility (USR) program, this initiative aims to extend to the natural landscapes of remote indigenous communities, such as the Meixi Aboriginal Tribe in Nantou, known as the homeland of butterflies.

Chinese Resource：https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/life/breakingnews/4649394