A dedicated group of nature lovers manage and conserve important wildlife habitats at Hong Kong Wetland Park in northern Tin Shui Wai. Working behind the scenes, they devote their spare time to maintaining the park as a world class eco-tourism spot for visitors.
They are part of the Hong Kong Wetland Park Volunteer Scheme which was established in 2002 - four years before the park officially opened - to encourage the public to join the park in promoting wetland conservation.
Ageless activity
Ho Keung is 74 and joined the scheme in its early days. He has volunteered at the park every week for more than a decade.
His duties as part of the outdoor conservation service support frontline habitat management works: removing exotic species, tree planting, weeding, fertilising, rice transplanting and conducting biodiversity surveys.
Mr Ho initially became a volunteer to pass the time after retirement, but before he knew it, he had already spent a decade there. He has a soft spot for some of the plants and trees in the park because he planted them himself and has watched them grow.
He gets to revisit those trees and plants at least once a month when he removes exotic species from the area. He also works with student volunteers to carry out the weeding, but the physical exertion for some of the younger ones proves too much. Mr Ho is proud to say that when his younger counterparts start to flag, he soldiers on, making him feel young again.
“The young ladies in our group treat me as a brother and not as an old man, which makes me feel accepted,” he said.
One of the park’s winter highlights is the Bird Watching Festival. It is the volunteers who take care of the artificial bird nests during the breeding season. Mr Ho gains satisfaction from finding chicks and hatchlings, but he has also come across snakes and mice in the nests as well.
“You can see so much more behind the scenes as a volunteer. For example, during the bird breeding season, we need to check the artificial nests. Once, I found seven or eight eggs which was exciting and I was thrilled to witness them hatch.”
Rewarding experience
Volunteer Lau Tit-chu joined the scheme in 2002. He works at the park twice a week and considers it his second home. While he has volunteered at different places, he has found none as rewarding as his work at Wetland Park.
Mr Lau takes special care of an Incense tree which was a mentally disabled boy had planted with the help of his mother. They had planted the sapling in a less than ideal area, but Mr Lau did not dare re-locate it for fear of upsetting the boy.
“Taking care of the plants makes me feel relaxed. I was thrilled to witness an Incense tree flourish in a difficult planting site after we tended to it,” he said.
Conservation partners
Wetland Park employs 647 volunteers. It also hosts a School Partnership Programme to train primary and secondary students as eco-tour guides. They receive park management training covering basic wetlands knowledge, wildlife identification and interpretation skills.
Primary student Nicole Koon credits her volunteer work with boosting her confidence.
“I once explained animal habitats to a tourist. My English is not that good, so I could only read the words written on the information board to them, but they encouraged me. It was satisfying to get the job done.”
Anyone aged eight or above with an interest in nature conservation can become a volunteer. Visit Wetland Park’s website for details.
