Lin Ching-yao got involved in grassroots activism thanks to the influence of Chiaotou native and former Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yu Teng-fa, for whom he once acted as press secretary. Observing that the most serious potential crises in Taiwan exist at the grassroots level, he decided to devote himself to community activism. After getting a job with the Chiaotou township government, he launched a community improvement campaign.
曾任高雄縣長新聞秘書的林敬堯，深受由橋頭崛起政壇的前高雄縣長余登發「草根經營模式」影響，察覺到台灣社會潛藏的危機尤以基層為甚，因此決心投入基層，受聘為橋頭鄉公所秘書，發起橋頭社區營造運動。