Moon Pond – Rebuilding an Ark for Freshwater Fishes

Since 2022, the Wistron Foundation has partnered with the Wild Bird Society of Taipei to launch the Moon Pond Adoption Project at Guandu Nature Park. The project has focused on four key strategies—vegetation management, water regulation, habitat diversity preservation, and invasive species control—to maintain a 0.36-hectare area. Wistron Joyful Service volunteers have also contributed by removing invasive species, working to restore Moon Pond’s former ecological richness as a Noah’s Ark for the freshwater fishes of the Tamsui River.

At the same time, the foundation has supported improvements to the park’s No. 2 Birdwatching Cabin, maintained the ecology tanks at the Nature Center, and provided wetland environmental education for students from semi-rural schools and those with special needs. That same year, Guandu Nature Park was recognized as a Star Wetland Center by the Wetland Link International (WLI) network.

Waterbird Breeding Habitat Conservation

In 2023, the Wistron Foundation expanded its adoption efforts to include the core conservation area of Guandu Nature Park. Key actions have included installing and replacing ecological floating platforms, raising the elevation of flood-prone islets, maintaining eco-friendly heart fields, and implementing targeted mowing.

Each winter, Eastern spot-billed ducks are the first to arrive, settling on the floating platforms. In spring, the fields are kept at low water levels, creating ideal foraging grounds for small shorebirds such as juvenile black-winged stilts. The elevated islets help prevent nest flooding during the stilts’ breeding and chick-rearing seasons. Mowing along the pathways reduces chicks’ energy expenditure, minimizes disorientation and predator encounters, and improves survival rates.

Together, these ongoing efforts help ensure that waterbirds are not merely seasonal visitors, but can safely breed and raise their young within Guandu Nature Park.

Guandu International Nature Art Festival

In the same year, the Wistron Foundation expanded its support for Guandu Nature Park beyond the adoption of Moon Pond and the core conservation area, site improvements, and environmental education to include participation in nature art creation. Forty Wistron family members took part in the 2023 Guandu International Nature Art Festival, aligning with the theme “Nature, A Gift.” Wistron presented a collaborative artwork titled Ascending Blessings as both a gift and a tribute to the Guandu Wetland ecosystem. The piece was exhibited alongside works by five international artists from Mongolia, India, Japan, and other countries.

Ascending Blessings marked the first corporate-participation piece ever featured in the festival and remains the only work permanently installed at Birdwatching Cabin No. 2. Through its lasting presence, it continues to convey blessings to the Guandu Wetland.

In 2024, the Wistron Foundation presented a new artwork titled Ascending Home in response to the year’s theme, “Ecology, as a Perception.” The piece is set to be installed near Moon Pond—the freshwater fish restoration ark adopted by the foundation—with a view toward the core conservation area of Guandu Nature Park. This vision has also inspired the concept behind Ascending Home.

In addition, the foundation has supported the Waterbird Breeding Habitat Project in the core zone, which involves installing ecological floating boards and creating small islets to provide safe nesting grounds for both migratory and resident waterbirds.

In the effort to protect natural ecosystems, habitat preservation is one approach, environmental education another—and artistic expression yet another. In partnership with the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, the Wistron Foundation continues to safeguard Guandu Nature Park through diverse and creative means.