In the summer of 2006, Lin was awarded a grant by the Council for Hakka Affairs to go to Saitama Prefecture and the Ryukyu Islands in Japan for two months and study local music and cultures. Afterwards, Hirayasu and Ohtake traveled to Meinung, Taiwan, to work on the album Planting Trees. They stayed for nearly a month, experiencing the unique culture of this small Hakka town.
2006 夏天，獲得行政院客家委員會「築夢計劃」經費補助的林生祥，踏上日本東京琦玉縣與琉球的土地，進行為期兩個月的音樂學習與文化觀察；其後為了錄製《種樹》專輯，平安隆和大竹研也跨海來到美濃錄音，長住了 20 多天，實際體驗這個客家小鎮獨特的人文風情。