The EPA and the Ministry of Education (MOE) are jointly holding the fourth competition for creative environmental maps, in order to encourage elementary school students to create their own unique maps. Students from the second to sixth grades are welcomed to team up and have until 1 December to sign up for the competition. Not only will school-age children get to work with classmates, parents, and teachers to step out of their own homes and explore surrounding areas, but this year a special prize on transformation toward net-zero emissions has been added to the competition so as to align with the government’s recent policies. Two submitted works will be selected from each age group for this category. All maps centering on climate change or sustainable use of energy and resources have a chance to win the special prize.

The previous three competitions received good responses, leading up to a total of 538 submissions in the fourth competition this year. The submissions show the full range of issues in Taiwan from different perspectives and through the eyes and minds of children. The event welcomes pupils who will be in second to sixth grade this September to compete. There will be two age groups, middle classmen and upper classmen. Participants are allowed to team up with students from different schools so that children of different ages and schools can exchange ideas on environmental topics. With parents and teachers accompanying them to observe living environments, children will learn more about various environmental issues in their daily lives and use their enhanced understanding to make maps.

Submitted maps are to incorporate one of the five environmental education themes, which are environmental ethics, sustainable development, climate change, disaster prevention and rescue, and sustainable use of energy and resources. There are also manuals on how these maps are to be created to enable competitors to express their motives and messages behind making individual maps, as well as to express more reflections about caring for one’s own living environment.

All prizes in sum total up to NT$200,000. A total of 50 winners will be picked out, including the top three submissions, five for excellence, and two nomination teams out of the middle classmen group and the upper classmen group, with the top winner receiving gift vouchers worth NT$30,000. Moreover, two participants will be selected from each age group for the prize category, transformation toward net-zero emissions, newly added this year in accordance to recent relevant policies. Submitted maps whose themes are climate change or sustainable use of energy and resources have a chance to win the prize. The aim is to urge school-age children to align their daily living practices with environmental policies by learning about relevant policies and in the future even participate in policy making.

To help students, parents, and teachers better understand the making of environmental maps, from July to November this year a series of promotional events were held, including meetings, workshops, and an exhibition of the winning maps from last year´s competition. Attendees were able to learn about net-zero policies and the competition via fun games, talk with winning teams from the previous competitions, and tour the sites on which the previous winning maps were based. In addition, the exhibition helped more children, parents, and people learn about the map creators’ motives, choice of themes, and on-site investigations. The goal was to inspire potential participants and help them understand the basics of making environmental maps.

Mother Nature is the best teaching material in a child’s journey to grow and learn. Making environmental maps allows kids to visit their communities, explore new people and things, discover unexpected wonders, and naturally identify with and love their neighborhoods. The EPA sincerely invites parents and children to embark on environmental education and environment-friendly practices in their daily lives by signing up for the event, exploring, creating, and sharing. Detailed information on competition rules and relevant events can be found on the event website at https://www.environmentalmap.com.tw/.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, June 2023