Project Assistant：KUO,CHIA-YU

To broaden the professional perspectives of Level Green (Beginner) Marine Educators and strengthen their commitment to action, the Marine Education Center designed a reengagement program centered on marine culture. The program guided participants on field visits to fishing villages in Yilan, where they engaged in in-depth humanistic explorations and participated in cultural forum activities. The course encouraged reflection on the connections among cultural heritage, the marine environment, and sustainable education through the lenses of local life and historical context.

This program began with the “Five Fishing Village, Five Railways” journey into Yilan’s marine culture, starting from Toucheng Station and following the coastline of the Northeast region. The railway served as a thread linking people with the ocean. Guided by the Seabelongings team, the participants conducted a field study of the “Three Villages, Three Islands” communities of Daxi, Dachen, and Guishan Island, where they heard local residents share stories of fishing village relocations, shifts in the fishing industry, and adapting to these shifts and relocations in their daily lives. From old harbors to new ones, every scene bore witness to the wisdom required to coexist with the sea, offering the participants deep insight into how these communities sustain their culture and livelihoods amid changing times and environments.

In the afternoon, a Marine Culture Forum experience was held at the Daxi Fishing Port. Through discussions and sharing, the participants were encouraged to reflect on the diverse forms and instructional applications of contemporary marine culture with reference to their own educational practice. The participants shared their experiences and challenges in promoting marine education in both classroom and community settings and exchanged ideas on how to transform marine culture into classroom material that fosters a concern for the ocean and understanding of the environment among students.

During this reengagement program, the participants reexamined the ocean from a humanistic perspective and generated momentum and consensus for action through mutual exchanges. The Marine Education Center hopes that marine educators will transform the knowledge gained from this experience into curriculum innovation and inspiration for action, continuing to expand marine education to enable students to experience the power of the ocean and the richness of marine culture in their daily lives.