The History of the Aquatic Pools

Origin

Before Tung-Shin Elementary School was built, all the plants on campus were planned in different locations, such as the main entrance, perimetrical trail, aquatic pools, living classroom. Many different plants were placed in these locations. Among them, the “aquatic ecological teaching area” is a major feature on campus. A lowland area was formed after the soil was used to construct the foundation of school buildings. In order to attract birds to come and nest, much effort was put in to maintain the environment. Thus the area attracts many aquatic birds, such as common moorhens, white-breasted waterhens, and egrets. It becomes the best ecological observation area on campus. When the phase two buildings were planned, the school kept the original eco-function of some areas and gradually developed the surrounding area into teaching farm, ecological observation area, aquatic plants area and butterfly nectar area.

Panoramic view of the aquatic pool when the school was founded

The island inside the pool is where the birds nest

The filtration pond and the aquatic pool

Picture showing the biodiversity of the aquatic pool

History aquatic pool renovation

First renovation：

After the inflows of nearby waste water, alien fish and non-native aquatic plants, the biodiversity of the teaching aquatic pool changed drastically. It was very difficult to enter the pool to remove everything. Therefore, after discussion, the school began to renovate the pool in September 1996. The main task was to remove water cabbage, water hyacinth and Thai carp. In addition, the dike was reinforced to prevent waste water from nearby families from flowing into the aquatic pool.

The appearance after the removal of aquatic plants

Before clean up, the pool was full of water hyacinth

The view after the removal of water hyacinth

The new dike after reinforcement

Second renovation:：

The first renovation only took care some of the problems due to lack of funds. In order to completely tackle all the problems, the school applied for additional funds earnestly and reached out to legislator Pan Meng-An for help. In March 2008, a total of NT 200,000 renovation fund was approved. The school used the money to mainly improve the bottom of the pool. Concrete blocks were placed at the pool bottom, which makes routine maintenance easier. Moreover, wooden fence was added right next to the gutter to improve safety. In the filtration pond, aquatic plants were planted to create a habitat for amphibians.

Pool bottom improvement underway

Laying concrete blocks on the pool bottom

Adding wooden fence next to gutter

Planting aquatic plants in the filtration pond

Third renovation:

After the second renovation, routine maintenance became much easier. However, a waterproof treatment was not applied to the pool bottom and the water level changed greatly by season. During rainy season, the water was very deep. On the other hand, the pool was out of water during winter and the aquatic plants could not survive. Only drought-tolerant water spinach and weeds stayed alive. Therefore, in August 2012 the school carried out the third renovation to seal the pool bottom by laying tarps. Stones were stacked around the pool to create spaces for small creatures to hide. We also began to help the school plant aquatic plants, maintain the area, and clean up the pools after the renovation was completed.

Sealing the bottom of the aquatic pool

Renovation of the surrounding ditches

Volunteers from local business paving stones to reinforce the bank

The appearance of the aquatic pool after renovation