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CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia held the ‘Environment and Climate Change Forum Series: Community-based Environmental Education’ at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) today (24 May).  Experts from the environmental and education fields shared views and vision on community-based environmental education. About 100 participants from public or private sector organizations, local schools and tertiary institutions took part in the event.

The forum was chaired by Prof. Jimmy YU, Associate Director ofInstituteofEnvironment, Energy and Sustainability, CUHK.  Mr. LAM Chiu-ying, Chairman of Environmental Campaign Committee and former Director of Hong Kong Observatory, was the keynote speaker.  The panelists included Dr. YAU Wing-kwong, Director of Tai Po Environmental Association; Mr. YU Tai-wai, Principal of Yan Chai Hospital No.2 Secondary School; and Mr. YEUNG Man-yui, Convener, Working Group on Environment Protection, under the Health and Environment Committee of Sha Tin District.

Mr. Lam noted that the core value of environmental protection is for people to live in harmony with the nature. Economic development should never be achieved at the expense of the environment. Every citizen is held responsible for the protection of the environment; we should not just rely on government actions. Community-based environmental education should be rooted in the community, in which individuals are motivated to take actions by, for instance, reducing unnecessary consumption, thereby building a sense of global citizenship.

During the Question and Answer session, participants raised questions on how to implement environmental education in the community successfully and shared views onHong Kong’s environmental development.

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia is a 5-year community engagement programme launched in 2012 by CUHK, with a generous donation of HK$54 million by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.  Committed to paving a sustainable future for Hong Kong, the programme aims at promoting environmental conservation and sustainability in local communities, through public education and carbon reduction partnerships with schools and non-governmental organizations.

Rising environmental awareness, together with the proactive policies implemented by the government, has inspired the community to advocate for environmental protection.  In order to draw on collective wisdom and to encourage active public participation in pro-environment activities, CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia organizes the ‘Environment and Climate Change Forum Series’.  Experts and practitioners from different fields and the public are involved to confer on the best ways to deal with environmental challenges and impacts of climate change.

Also under the programme is the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change, scheduled to open in late 2013, to present Dr. Rebecca Lee’s valuable ‘Three Poles’ collection (the North Pole, the South Pole and Mt Everest), innovative research in environment, energy and sustainability initiated by CUHK, and the Trust’s endeavours contributing to the improvement of the environment.

More details of the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia can be found at www.cuhk.edu.hk/gaia.