The childhood memories of Dragon Boat Festival&mdashhanging mugwort, collecting noontime water, and boiling aromatic herbs&mdashwill be brought to life once again at the Chihnan Nature Education Center of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. On May 24, the center will host the "Welcoming Dragon Boat Festival with Mugwort Fragrance" summer family nature experience event. Starting from the traditional herbal bathing ritual, the event integrates herbal aromatherapy, folk plants, and five-sense exploration. Parents and children are invited to make seasonal herbal bath sachets and fragrant decorations together, revisiting the wisdom of traditional seasonal living and experiencing the beauty of summer forests.
Parents and children explore traditional summer plants through touch and smell together (Photo: Taken from the Ministry of Agriculture website)
Huang Qun-Ce, Director of the Hualien Branch, stated that to strengthen the role of forests in sustainable development, the Chihnan Center has long promoted the concepts of "forest diversity services" and "forest therapy," turning forests into vital spaces for physical and mental well-being. This event incorporates the traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival and, through nature observation and folk plant crafts, deepens public understanding of ecological balance and harmonious coexistence with nature, rekindling the bond between humans and the natural world.
Online registration opens at 9:00 AM on April 29, with a limit of 15 groups. Parents with children aged 4 and above, as well as the general public, are welcome to join. The registration fee for a parent-child group is NT$399, which includes one child and one adult, course fees, materials, admission, and parking (transportation not included).
To register, please visit the Chihnan Nature Education Center page on the Taiwan Forest Recreation website:
(https://recreation.forest.gov.tw/Education/Course?id=CN-D1405). First-time users must register as members. For more information, check the Chihnan Nature Education Center&rsquos Facebook fan page or contact the Education Promotion Group at (03)864-1594 ext. 15.
