1. Although Taiwan is surrounded by sea, its unique climate and geographical conditions result in a severe shortage of freshwater resources. National Changhua University of Education (NCUE) recognizes the importance of sustainable resource management and biodiversity, actively promoting the sustainable development of water resources, with a particular focus on the protection and rational use of freshwater resources. To address the issue of water scarcity, our university's interdisciplinary professional faculty and environmental teachers, in collaboration with external scholars and local organizations, conduct various free workshops in line with the Ministry of Education's plans. We actively cultivate local environmental education seed teachers to jointly address local environmental issues. Through the promotion of environmental education, we bring together local residents, students, and educators, aiming to raise public awareness of water resource protection and promote more responsible water usage behavior.

2. Cooperating with Communities to Promote Environmental Education and Cultivate Water Use Awareness

The Environmental Education Center regularly organizes various environmental education courses, including 24-hour and 100-hour professional certification courses. These courses cover topics such as freshwater ecosystems, indicator species observation, and water quality testing. They are open not only to school faculty and students but also benefit community members, providing them with knowledge about water resource management and water quality protection, thereby raising public awareness of water resource protection.

(1) Cultivating Local Environmental Education Talents

The Environmental Education Center cultivates relevant environmental education talents. In conjunction with the "Beautiful and Treasured Clams in Fangyuan and Dacheng: Sustainable Industry and Environment Project of Changhua's Two Cities Amid Climate Change" project, we provided relevant educational courses for local and national communities from July to October 2024. Information is shown in Table 1, and activities are shown in Figures 1-3.

Course image information links:

(a) https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1080081833905178&type=3

(b) https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1082290977017597&type=3

Table 1: Environmental Education Course Activities

Course Activity	Date	Number of Participants
Environmental Education Personnel 24-hour Certification NCUE Special Class	July 2024	20
Environmental Education Personnel 100-hour Class	July-October 2024	8

Figure 1. Environmental Education Personnel NCUE Special Class

Figure 2. the 100-hour Class for Environmental Education Personnel

(2) USR Projects to Promote Water Resource Education Courses and Community Participation

(a) NCUE organized multiple courses and workshops focused on aquaculture, water quality surveys, citizen science, and wetland education under the "Beautiful and Treasured Clams in Fangyuan and Dacheng: Sustainable Industry and Environment Project of Changhua's Two Cities Amid Climate Change" Project, which enhanced community residents' awareness and knowledge of water pollution, aquaculture water source management, and aquatic sustainability. Free educational courses related to water quality testing and surveys offered in 2024 are shown in Table 2, with activities shown in Figures 3-4. Reference information link:
https://www.facebook.com/NCUEUSR/photos/?tab=album&ref=page_internal

Table 2. 2024 Course/Activity Topics and Participant Statistics

NO.	Course/Activity Topic	Number of Sessions	Number of Participants
1	Aquaculture Probiotics Workshop	1	25
2	Water Quality Investigator Workshop	1	25
3	Aquaculture Association Environmental Education Promotion	1	300
4	Marine Seed Citizen Scientist Workshop	1	34
5	Junior Citizen Scientist Workshop	1	25
6	Caohu Junior High School Environmental Education Promotion Activity	1	500
7	Sustainable Aquatic Product Supply Chain Seminar	1	50
8	Aquaculture Water Quality Investigator Workshop	1	26
9	Minglun Junior Wetland Citizen Scientist Workshop	1	40
10	Hard Clam Citizen Survey Workshop	1	23
11	Taiwan Coastal Fisheries and Aquaculture Workshop	1	36
12	Eco-friendly Aquaculture Workshop	1	36
13	Chengkung Senior High School Fish Education Workshop	1	30
14	Teachers' Green Energy Fish Education Workshop	1	18
15	Caohu Junior High School Green Energy Fish Education	1	25
16	Changhua Coastal Resources Survey Workshop	1	36
17	Changbin Water Park Environmental Education Conference	1	36

Figure 3. July 2024 Cao-Hu Junior High School Water Quality Testing and Analysis Course

Figure 4. Little Citizen Scientist Training Activities with Local elementary and junior high Schools

(b) Furthermore, the "Beautiful and Treasured Clams in Fangyuan and Dacheng: Sustainable Industry and Environment Project of Changhua's Two Cities Amid Climate Change" project emphasizes the impact of pollution and climate change on local industries such as aquaculture. This initiative promotes environmental education to foster community awareness and action.

NCUE in line with the Ministry of Education's plans, promotes various free workshops and actively cultivates local environmental education seed teachers to jointly address local environmental issues (Figure 5). We bring together local residents, students, and educators to collectively address water pollution issues and their impact on coastal ecosystems.

Appendix:

i. "Beautiful and Treasured Clams in Fangyuan and Dacheng: Sustainable Industry and Environment Project of Changhua's Two Cities Amid Climate Change" Project Website:
https://www.facebook.com/NCUEUSR/

ii. "Beautiful and Treasured Clams in Fangyuan and Dacheng: Sustainable Industry and Environment Project of Changhua's Two Cities Amid Climate Change" - Album URL:
https://www.facebook.com/NCUEUSR/photos/?tab=album&ref=page_internal

Figure 5. Local residents were participating in the Beach Shellfish and Fish Education Workshop

(3) NCUE's "Changhua Coastal Clam Habitat Survey and Conservation Education Promotion Project" combines local schools and communities through industry-academia cooperation to cultivate awareness of reasonable water use and water resource conservation.

(a) "Clam Habitat Surveys" are conducted in four seasons at Xinbao Wetland and Wanggong Fishing Harbor (including sediment improvement experiments), along with volunteer training, “seed teacher training”, and "Clam Treasure Detective Teams," enabling community residents and students to participate in water quality testing, biodiversity surveys, and bivalve classification.

(b) In addition, NCUE also cooperated with schools such as Caohu Junior High School, Hanbao Elementary School, and Lukang Elementary School, combining scientific surveys with local educational curricula to promote the importance of coastal environmental protection and reasonable water use, and enhance community residents' understanding of water resource sustainability (Figure 6).

(c) Project results show that sediment improvement effectively promotes the growth of coarse sediment indicator species such as hard clams and Asiatic hard clams, suppresses the dominance of Cyclina sinensis, enhances carbon sequestration potential and benthic biodiversity. Moreover, citizen scientist participation effectively increases survey data volume and strengthens community water resource and ecological conservation awareness, and the project successfully established a demonstration model that combines scientific research with educational promotion.

Figure 6. Cao-Hu Junior High School: Clam Treasure Detective Team Water Quality Survey Workshop

3. Integration into General Education to Expand Water Resource Issues into the Classroom

The Center for General Education offers specialized water resource courses to strengthen students' comprehensive understanding of global and Taiwan's water resource issues.

(1) The "Water Resources and Human Civilization" course introduce the water resource challenges faced globally and in Taiwan. Through this course, students explored the historical and contemporary significance of water to human society and its key role in sustainable development. They also investigated the impact of water resource changes on human history. Students learned how to understand the sustainable use of water resources and reflected on how individuals and society should conserve water in daily life.

(2) The "Water and Energy Conservation in Modern Life" course introduces students to the basic principles of water resources and power sources to understand their importance and environmental impact, while cultivating students' abilities to conserve water and electricity.

(3) The " An introduction to Marine Life Sciences " course combines off-campus field research and beach cleaning service learning, allowing students to understand the impact of human activities on water resources and the environment from the perspective of marine pollution and coastal ecological conservation, and to practice waste sorting, beach cleaning, and marine conservation actions, further strengthening awareness of cherishing water resources.

(4) Course syllabus information links:

(a) https://webap0.ncue.edu.tw/DEANV2/UploadDEAN/SUBJECT/1121/00248_0CCGE0175120.pdf(PDF)

(b) https://webap0.ncue.edu.tw/DEANV2/UploadDEAN/SUBJECT/1122/0232_0CCGE0178720.pdf(PDF)

(c) https://webap0.ncue.edu.tw/DEANV2/UploadDEAN/SUBJECT/1132/00252_0CCGE0169820_EN.pdf(PDF)

4. Promoting Water Resource Awareness in the Community

(1) Faculty and students jointly participate in water resource field learning

In 2024, the Department of Geography's geographical fieldwork course arranged visits to Shihgang Dam, Nantou's Zhongguakeng Stream, and other important water resource projects in central Taiwan. Through on-site observation, students learned about reservoir management, waterfront governance, and water conservation strategies, enhancing practical experience and consensus on water resource conservation (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Group discussions at the Zhongguakeng Stream.

(2) Promotion through thejunior high school student camp: Geography Exploration Camp

NCUE organizes Geography Exploration Camps for junior high school students. The camps incorporate two major themes of "Earthquakes and Hydrology" and "Wetlands and Energy," combining course and field research (such as visiting Shihgang Dam and oyster harvesting experiences at Fangyuan Wetland), and using games and experiential teaching methods to strengthen water resource awareness among the younger generation (Figures 8-9).

Camp webpage link:

https://sites.google.com/view/2th-ncue-stu-geo-camp/%E6%B4%BB%E5%8B%95%E5%85%A7%E5%AE%B9

Figure 8. Visiting the Shihgang Dam

Figure 9. Fangyuan Wetlands Trail

5. Overall, NCUE actively promotes more conscious water resource usage behavior through the courses and community engagement. Through these efforts, the university not only enhances the awareness of water resource protection among faculty, students, and the community but also contributes to the sustainable development of water resources for the entire society.