In response to a call from his neighbor, writer Shih Chi-ching, to help protect their mountain environment, Chen was appointed guardian of the forest.
隨後在同樣移居南庄的鄰居作家施寄青號召下，為保有社區好山好水，陳正武成立了以「山林守護者」自許的「苗栗縣侏儸紀故鄉營造協會」。