On May 16 (2024), the NPUST Sustainable Healthcare Center and the Pingtung County Government Health Bureau jointly held the second installment of “Integration of Generations—Young and Old Learn Together”. This time cooperating with the Department of Plant Industry, the adopted theme for the university social responsibility (USR) activity was “Gardening and Green Therapy”. Pingtung County Health Bureau section chief Chia-Hui Chiu and Sustainable Healthcare Center professor Ya-ling Wu co-hosted the opening of the activity which was supervised by Associate Professor Chang-Hai Huang.
Senior citizens from the neighboring Neipu and Zhutian communities were invited to participate in the USR program, which was designed to foster interaction between senior citizens and college students according to a philosophy of “learning together”. In this way, the university campus is able to become more of an extension of the community and use its facilities and resources to create an environment that is friendly and respectful to the elderly.
Pingtung County Health Bureau section chief Chia-Hui Chiu explained that “the aging population trend in Pingtung County has been very significant. In order to help the elderly fully enjoy senior life, we are cooperating with NPUST, providing companionship and interaction from young volunteers, and allowing the seniors to experience an environment and atmosphere that is different from their everyday lives. During the process the college students are also able to connected with the wisdom of this older generation. Both parties can feel each other’s rich and different life experiences, and the senior’s lives can be infused with a dose of youthful vitality.”
