To fulfill the university social responsibility and create a diverse community, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology has launched the “Hand in Hand with Guishan － Conservation, Humanities, and Technology” USR (University Social Responsibility) project. This initiative collaborates with local communities in Guishan District, Taoyuan City, focusing on ecological education promotion, natural ecological protection, and the restoration of firefly habitats, aiming to jointly protect the fireflies and build a beautiful home.

This project involves faculty and students from the Department of Industrial Management. This semester, co-host Professor Ming-De May has introduced a course titled “Firefly Habitat Restoration Management and Maintenance.” The course includes three major components: firefly habitat restoration and construction of natural environmental conditions, plant and crop cultivation and friendly management, and practical activities for releasing fireflies and maintaining the habitat on-site. The goal is to contribute to home protection and implement the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and university social responsibility.

The practical activities are conducted by the Lunghwa USR project team and the students enrolled in the course. They visit the Fengweikeng habitat in Guishan District, Taoyuan, for restoration work. The team also invites community elders and primary and secondary school students to participate. Together, they release firefly larvae into the natural environment and assist residents in cleaning the area, improving emergent aquatic plantings, drainage, and slope maintenance to create a suitable environment for the survival of aquatic firefly larvae. In executing the project, the USR team not only helps restore the ecological environment suitable for fireflies but also establishes long-term cooperative relationships with residents to jointly maintain the ecological environment, ensuring the sustainable propagation of fireflies.

Professor Ming-De May emphasizes that habitat restoration is a crucial conservation effort that significantly benefits the ecosystem and helps maintain biodiversity and species variety. The survival status of fireflies can be an indicator of environmental quality. Their presence signifies a more habitable environment for humans. By promoting the survival of fireflies, we are working towards improving our environmental sustainability, a task that will never cease.

Professor Chiao-Wang Shih from the Department of Information Management, the host of the “Hand in Hand with Guishan - Conservation, Humanities, and Technology” USR project, underscores that Lunghwa University's initiative is a university social responsibility action centered on local care. It aims to leverage university knowledge and resources to lead the entire faculty and students out of the campus and integrate into the local community. The launch of the habitat restoration course marks a new chapter in ecological conservation projects. It is hoped that through the joint efforts of Lunghwa faculty, students, and community residents, the beautiful glow of fireflies will once again light up the night sky.