Traditional Hand Rice Planting Experience with Little Farmers

[Seoul District News] Yangcheon-gu to Host Urban Rice Planting Experience with Little Farmers at Sintree Park on the 17th... Opening of ‘Geumcheon Healing Family Camping Farm’... Dongjak-gu Operates Future Education Robot Experience Campus for Learning through Play... Yeongdeungpo Homeless Shelter Cleaning... ‘Homeless Community Volunteer Group’ Launches Environmental Maintenance

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu announced on the 17th that it successfully held a traditional hand rice planting experience event with little farmers at Sintree Park (310-7 Sinjeong-dong).

This experience was prepared to remind urban children, who rarely have the opportunity to encounter agricultural culture, of the value of our agricultural products through observing the growth process of rice and planting crops. Additionally, it was organized to allow families to create precious memories and experiences together in celebration of Family Month.

At the event held for about 40 children and their families affiliated with institutions participating in the ‘Sintree Little Farmers School’ program, the children observed germinated rice seeds and seedlings and participated in the traditional hand rice planting activity, carefully planting seedlings along the rows with their small hands.

Moreover, various observation activities were conducted, such as touring the park’s vegetable garden and planting fruit vegetables like cherry tomatoes and peppers, as well as fragrant herbs.

The district plans to let residents enjoy the autumn atmosphere in the city through an early Chuseok experience activity featuring early-maturing colored rice varieties that grow faster than regular rice this year. Over the course of a year, participants will directly observe the growth process of rice and engage in diverse programs such as harvesting and threshing in the autumn when the grains ripen.

A representative from the Park and Greenery Division said, “We hope this rice planting experience provided our children with a valuable opportunity to understand the dedication and hard work of farmers behind the agricultural products served on their family tables,” adding, “We will continue to develop diverse content that actively utilizes urban ecological spaces so that children can grow up healthily in harmony with nature.”

Geumcheon-gu announced that it will operate the ‘Geumcheon Healing Family Camping Farm’ from June 8 to October 28.

The ‘Geumcheon Healing Family Camping Farm’ is held twice a week at an urban agriculture experience site located at 332 Haan-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Every Friday, the program offers a ‘Urban Farmer Camping Experience’ for up to 8 Geumcheon-gu resident families (up to 6 people each), and every Wednesday, it runs a ‘Little Farmer Harvest Experience’ for daycare centers or educational institutions located in Geumcheon-gu. The operating hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Geumcheon-gu provides participants with organic leafy vegetables grown at the weekend farm, shaded platforms where tents can be set up, and burners. Participants must prepare other items such as tents, mats, butane gas, and food themselves.

Those wishing to participate in the camping experience can apply through the ‘Integrated Reservation’ section on the Geumcheon-gu Office website from May 23 to October 14 for each session. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and detailed schedules can be found on the ‘Geumcheon News’ bulletin board on the website.

Park Nam-hyun, Director of the Park and Greenery Division, said, “We hope residents can relieve stress and heal with nature by visiting nearby farms,” and added, “We will continue to prepare various agricultural experience events so that residents can enjoy healthy leisure activities.”

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 18th that it will operate the ‘Robot Experience Campus,’ an educational program where about 200 elementary school students can assemble and operate AI robots themselves.

The ‘Robot Experience Campus’ consists of a robot experience education program that provides four weeks of hands-on smart education including AI robot assembly, operation, and coding for 4th to 6th graders in local elementary schools, and a one-day program called the Robot Experience Center held every Wednesday for two hours.

Last year, the district first introduced the Robot Experience Campus education to about 70 children from 11 local children’s centers. The program went beyond simple coding lessons by implementing actual robots, providing education tailored to children’s levels, which received high praise from participants.

Based on feedback, the education period has been doubled from 2 weeks to 4 weeks starting this year, and a new registration system has been introduced to make it easier and more convenient for users to apply.

The robot experience education program covers a total of eight sessions over four weeks, including topics such as the concept and components of robots, assembly practice, the concept and case studies of artificial intelligence, natural language processing and analysis, and making a weathercaster robot.

During the education period, each participating student receives a commercial AI robot to stimulate interest and engagement, and a professional robot development engineer participates as an instructor to enhance the expertise of the lectures.

Additionally, every Wednesday, a one-day robot experience center is provided for elementary students interested in robots to understand and operate them, allowing many students to receive education.

Furthermore, at the end of the year, small group activities such as ‘Demo Day,’ which includes robot program planning and presentations, as well as visits to actual AI robot manufacturing companies, will be held to provide networking opportunities where children can demonstrate their creativity.

The education venue is the Kim Young-sam Public Library located in Sangdo 1-dong, but the location may change depending on future schedules. Any student wishing to participate can apply online through the registration website. For more details, inquiries can be made to the Future City Division.

Lee Jeong-sim, Director of the Future City Division, said, “We hope this education will be an opportunity for children to build AI robots themselves, increase their understanding and interest in AI robots and artificial intelligence in general, and enhance their creativity.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu announced that it will officially implement the ‘Yeongdeungpo Shantytown Maintained by Homeless People’ project from May to strengthen the self-reliance capabilities of street homeless people and improve the environment of the shantytown area near Yeongdeungpo Station.

This project involves five homeless people participating in special self-support jobs affiliated with Yeongdeungpo-gu’s homeless welfare facilities, Ongdalsam Drop-in Center (Director Park Seong-gon) and Yeongdeungpo Bohyeon Comprehensive Support Center (Director Im Do-young), patrolling the tent-dense area under the Yeongdeungpo Station overpass, while picking up scattered trash and cleaning the environment. This is expected to greatly help participants’ economic independence and social adaptation, as well as ensure a safe and pleasant summer for shantytown residents.

The environmental cleanup activities will be conducted 10 times a week from May to December this year. Participants will clean the streets twice daily, morning and afternoon, including communal restrooms in the shantytown and the tent-dense areas, and immediately report to the district office if they find homeless people in crisis or other emergencies.

Monthly labor contracts will be signed to provide salaries, and necessary supplies such as volume-based waste bags for cleanup will also be supported.

Since the activities take place during the hot summer, thorough safety measures will be implemented. Safety plans against heat waves will be established, and education on heatstroke prevention and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act will be conducted without fail.

Additionally, efforts will be made to manage personnel by preparing attendance sheets, activity photos, and daily performance reports for participants.

Meanwhile, the district has been linking and supporting about 200 jobs for homeless people with a will to become independent, helping them develop work capabilities and reintegrate stably into the community. On April 25, it signed a business agreement with Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) to provide quality jobs and various activities for social settlement to homeless self-support participants.

A district official said, “We will continue to do our best to prepare and support district-level measures so that homeless people with the will and ability to work can become full members of society.”