Hyundai Wia Selected as 'Green School' at National Seoul Agricultural School... "Creating a Customized Garden for Hearing-Impaired Students"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Hyundai Wia has created a school garden so that students can grow up breathing fresh air in harmony with nature.

On the 11th, Hyundai Wia announced that it had selected the National Seoul Agricultural School located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, as the ‘Hyundai Wia Green School’ and created a garden on the school grounds. The ‘Hyundai Wia Green School’ is one of Hyundai Wia’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management activities. It is a program that plants trees and creates gardens on campus to help students grow up in nature. The ‘Hyundai Wia Green School’ started in 2019 at Namyang Elementary School in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, and this is the fifth project.

Hyundai Wia established the Green School by newly renovating the ‘Nut Pine Tree Garden’ within the National Seoul Agricultural School. First, flowers and trees were planted so that students could directly experience the four seasons. The garden was designed so that students could observe the seasonal changes by watching flowers and trees grow differently throughout the year. A total of 38 species of trees and plants can be found here, including daffodils, Korean spice viburnum, Centella asiatica, Gentiana scabra, Chrysanthemum zawadskii, and evergreen sedge. In particular, Hyundai Wia designed the garden with plants of various colors and textures to accommodate hearing-impaired students, whose senses of sight and touch are well developed.

Additionally, the Nut Pine Tree Garden was arranged as a customized resting space for hearing-impaired students. The paths were made long and wide without obstructions to facilitate smooth visual communication such as sign language. Areas that were previously neglected with soil and stones were replaced with wooden decks so that all students could play safely, and circular benches were placed under large protected trees to allow students to rest in the shade.

In the newly created Nut Pine Tree Garden, a ‘Gardening Experience Program’ with a forest interpreter is also conducted. This program allows students to experience nature by directly planting various plants, including endangered species. To commemorate the establishment of the Green School, Hyundai Wia also held volunteer activities with its employees. About 30 Hyundai Wia employees participated in vocational training activities as ‘bakers and baristas’ with the students to enhance mutual understanding. All the bread made during this training was donated to local welfare facilities.

Hyundai Wia plans to continuously expand the ‘Hyundai Wia Green School’ so that growing students can develop healthily in fresh air. A Hyundai Wia official said, “We will continue to cultivate the Green School so that students can happily grow up in green forests and nature,” adding, “We will also promote various ESG activities in the future so that small movements can bring about big changes in the world.”