Our planet’s biodiversity is in crisis, but the subject has taken a back seat to climate change in conversations about sustainability in many schools. The Biodiversity and Schools Summit organized in collaboration with Chinese International School (CIS) and Metanoia aimed to change that. From rewilding gardens to mapping campus ecosystems – students and teachers from 11 schools in Hong Kong and Macau came together with local experts for a full day of inspiring talks, hands-on workshops, and discussions on taking action for nature.
To kick off the event, we were honoured to hear from Wander Meijer, Executive Director of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG), who shared an inspiring keynote about Hong Kong’s ecological past, and its hopeful future. We learned that Hong Kong is one of the most biodiverse cities in the world, home to an incredible 5% of global biodiversity. However, 50% of HK’s native tree species are endangered and an estimated 1 in 4 of our native animal species are at risk of extinction. Through science, education, and community action, KFBG has worked to restore degraded landscapes, rescue and rehabilitate wild animals, and cultivate a deeper public connection to nature.
After the keynote, participants separated into smaller groups for their workshops. The “Mapping Biodiversity on Your Campus” workshop was led by CIS teacher Matt Caplin, who demonstrated how smartphones can become scientific tools for conservation. With the help of iNaturalist and Seek apps, participants learned to identify and document local species, turning a walk-through campus into a data-driven biodiversity mission. In the meantime, Joshua Wolper from Soil Trust conducted a multi-sensory workshop on the importance of soil health. Through the magic of Bokashi fermentation and community-powered composting, we discovered how food scraps can regenerate our soil, reconnect our communities, and reshape the future of sustainable farming.
We reconvened for our second keynote by Andy Cornish, Member of the Hong Kong Biodiversity Expert Group, on the state of global biodiversity and marine life in Hong Kong. Andy Cornish spent 16 years working at WWF, during which he co-authored Hong Kong’s first sustainable seafood guide and led shark-fin advocacy efforts which resulted in a permanent ban on all trawling. He spoke about rivers being some of the most threatened habitats in Hong Kong, where 85% of freshwater species are in decline, and the importance of the ocean’s ecosystems and its marine life.
A biodiverse, sustainable school lunch helped participants power through the rest of the day. Curated by Sodexo, the menu featured a variety of different grains, vegetables, and plant-based protein from the Future 50 Foods that some of us had never even tried before! An interactive pre-lunch presentation by Future Green allowed students to see and feel samples of ingredients like teff, spelt, millet, and lentils – all of which added to their experience when they actually got to taste them at lunch. Swapping staples like white rice and potato for spelt or cilembu increases the nutrient content of a dish and contributes to making our food systems more resilient. It also helps safeguard these ancient variants for future generations. This was an excellent demonstration of what future-proof school meals should look like – highly nutritious, delicious and filling with a low carbon and water footprint (environmental footprinting was done using the Klimato database).
Following up on the topic of food, Future Green founder Heidi Yu Spurrell held the second part of her workshop ‘Biodiversity on Your Plate’ in the afternoon in which participants learned how our food choices impact biodiversity and identified ways to support it through procurement, menu design, and sourcing decisions. Meanwhile, students with a green thumb joined a planting experience in the CIS garden with Rooftop Republic – a social enterprise pioneering urban farming in Hong Kong. With seedlings in hand and curiosity in full bloom, they dug into the basics of cultivating plants and food crops – even in the middle of the city. WWF also hosted a workshop on Hong Kong’s wildlife and engaged students in an interactive game that helped them understand some of the major threats facing our wildlife including habitat fragmentation and competion for natural resources.
To conclude the event, a CIS student moderated a fireside chat with Kylie Moses, Sustainability Program Manager at The ISF Academy; Matt Caplin, Teacher at CIS; and Anthony Dixon, Founder and Chairman of TASS on practical actions that schools can take to “green” their campuses. Kylie spoke about her role in delivering experiential learning and supporting student research projects whilst collaborating with local partners to increase native flora species in The ISF Academy’s biodiversity garden – an inspiring, real-world example of biodiversity in schools.
Participants took home native plants provided by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden which will be replanted on their school campuses: a small but mighty step towards enhancing local biodiversity.
Thank you to all the organisers and presenters for contributing to such a successful event. We look forward to working with schools to improve the biodiversity of their campuses!
