Life education in nature: Get to know Professor Hippo and admire nature together

Professor Hippo is like a good friend, telling stories in your ear, staring at nature with you, and talking to nature.

Every day at work, I tell stories about nature, and I am deeply moved by the magic of every flower and tree in the world. I encountered a good book last week. Accompanying me on the high-speed rail business trip was a book I received from my cousin-in-law the day before yesterday. She was very moved after reading it and wanted to share it with me - "Professor Hippo Tells Stories: Life Education in Nature" 》. What Professor "Hippo" tells is not about animals, but about getting closer to nature through understanding plants.

You feel inexplicable joy after just turning a few pages. The prose-like narrative technique makes you feel like listening to someone telling a story in your ear. Professor Hippo is a professor at National Taiwan University, and he is also an enthusiastic university professor. I will not mention the awards he has won. Those who are interested can read the text for themselves. From his conversations with students, you will know the so-called enthusiastic teachers. It is not just proven by winning a few awards or being able to express a wealth of natural knowledge.

Start understanding nature by admiring plants

It is precisely because I have entered the world of natural ecology in the past few years that it has opened my horizons and rekindled my passion for learning. But it was very difficult to get to know plants at the beginning. I always felt that I didn’t study biology well when I was a student. Illustrated books and piles of text descriptions on the Internet can only imagine the characteristics of plants. Later, I discovered that it is better to see plants with my own eyes than to understand them through words, so I started my learning by observing plants myself, and then, as Professor Hippo said, I have been "praising" plants all the way up to now.

Plants are quietly around us. Starting from looking at and taking care of indoor plants, we then look at the small flowers and grass on the outside wall. We stand and look up, look up, squat, and sometimes lie down like Professor Hippo. Take a few photos, gaze at the leaves, flowers, and tree shapes, and pick up a few fallen leaves, fruits, or seeds. It doesn’t matter even if you don’t recognize them. In the past few years, what I find even more magical is the connection between me and plants. Even in places I often walk through, there are still plants I don’t recognize popping up, but I really can’t look them up all the time. Who are they? But occasionally, when I am reading information or observing, the plants themselves appear in my eyes, telling me who they are, and answering my doubts!

The plants introduced in Professor Hippo’s book can be seen all over the National Taiwan University campus, and they often appear around you and me. It depends on whether you are willing to stop and listen to what they say to you!

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Lu Peijing

?Qinqin culture lecturer. Volunteer Outreach Instructor for the Wilderness Conservancy. I like to invite people to go into nature and enjoy the moment when the flowers are in full bloom.