511 - 13 Dec 2014│Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Ying Wa Primary School is a boys’ school located in Sham Shui Po with a very typical school design. However, when you climb the staircase and reach the rooftop, you will be impressed by what you can see – a lively and colorful farm growing flowers and vegetables.

Mr. Kwong, the spokesperson for Ying Wa Primary School, said the rooftop farm was actually a significant part of the school greening project which has been going for about six months and so far the school is very positive about the effect.

“The green field not only helps improve the environment of the school, it also helps cultivate our students to become more eco-friendly by allowing them to plant their own flowers and vegetables,” said Mr. Kwong.

Recalling the reason why the school wanted to launch such a green project, Mr. Kwong explained that the school had been devoting much effort on environmental education and the project was considered as a booster to push the green education further.

“Knowledge is important. But allowing students to practice what they have learnt is even more significant,” said Mr. Kwong. “Therefore we established the farm and put planting inside the General Studies curriculum.”

According to Mr. Kwong, with the guidance provided by the teachers, students from every class have to plant within their own planting areas. Parents are also encouraged to come to the school

and plant together with their children. After receiving professional training from gardening experts, they have successfully grown many different kinds of plants including Mexican marigold and cabbage.

Mr. Kwong said the great response from the parents was really above their expectation and they were very pleased to know that the parents were interested in the green project. They hope that with the help of the parents, the concept of environmental projection can be further infused into the students’ mind.

Apart from the school’s education mission, Mr. Kwong pointed out that the subsidy offered by the Environmental Education and Community Action (EE&CA) Projects was another key encouragement for them to launch the project.

He said they learnt about the subsidy scheme from the promotional

materials distributed by the Environmental Protection

Department. Then they

immediately grasped the opportunity by applying with a detailed proposal.

“We applied for the subsidy in 2009 and we launched the project in late 2013,” said Mr. Kwong. “The four-year preparation process was not only about getting the proposal to be approved, but since we wanted to build the farm on the rooftop, we had to do a lot of things to fulfill different requirements from the government, including the Buildings Ordinance and the Fire Safety Ordinance.”

The preparation process was long and not easy; however Mr. Kwok said the positivity of the project had already proved the value of doing everything. And now the school was planning to move forward by considering establish a strawberry farm on the rooftop as well.

“Although we will not apply for the subsidy this time, we believe the project is able to help educate our students to be responsible to the environment and also turn our school in to a better learning environment, we will have no excuses but to carry on,” said Mr. Kwong.

When we talk about the different

features and facilities at a school, you may immediately

think of the playground, classroom or laboratories. But what if you are told that there

could be a farm inside a school? Surprised? But

it is possible.

The Projects refer to educational programmes or activities which aim to enhance community awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and mobilize individuals to take direct and positive action to improve and conserve the environment and induce behavioral change towards a green lifestyle.

The project is now open for application until June 23, 2014. Visit http://eeca.ecc.org.hk for more details.

Environmental Education and Community Action (EE&CA) Projects - General Projects

Rooftop Farming –

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