Sustainability at International College Hong Kong -Hong Lok Yuen

“Unless we are willing to encourage our children to reconnect with and appreciate the natural world, we can’t expect them to help protect and care for it.” 

This quote from the Canadian scientist and broadcaster David Suzuki encapsulates our belief at ICHK HLY that you cannot embed sustainable living into students’ lives without first embedding a love and knowledge of our natural world. At the heart of all we do here at ICHK HLY is the belief that students learn best when they have a daily hands-on connection with nature.

We are thrilled that the work we do to foster this love of nature has won the Sustainability Award at the 2023 International School Awards hosted by ISC Research! This win recognizes our Miyawaki Forest tree planting scheme which helps students to take ownership for the natural world and develop an understanding of their role in sustainability.

The Miyawaki Forest was built upon the work we have done over many years in developing a Woods area where students can learn in our outdoor classroom and practise outdoor skills as fire lighting, tree climbing and slacklining.

A vital component in our thinking around this project was to provide transferability of knowledge for students. 70% of Hong Kong is still rural and our aim is that as children grow and explore more of the city, they will come across the same plants that they have grown to love in the school grounds. We therefore made sure that all over 300 trees planted were indigenous to Hong Kong.

It is our hope that engendering a love of local flora and fauna in Kindergarten and Primary School will mean that our students will flourish into adults who are passionate advocates for sustainability in Hong Kong and beyond.