Wish on an Orange!

It is a traditional practice here to make a wish by writing your wish on a piece of paper and connect it to an orange. This is called a wishing placard! Then you throw it up into a large banyan tree. If it hangs, your wish will come true.

This tree, a famous Wishing Tree, is a favorite for wishers. Because the tree is dead, however, people are no longer allowed to throw oranges. How do they make a wish now? There is a board where wishers can pin their dreams!

Ecoguide Graduation

We graduated the first round of Long Valley ecoguides today. These are local, indigineous people living in the area who have now been trained about the environment, heritage and value of Long Valley well enough to give tours to other people. This is a key element for the success of our Long Valley projects; finding ways to weave the social, economic and environment together.

First the ecoguides gave tours to others, directors of CA, special guests and a number of consuls that I invited. These included representatives from the Belgian, German, French, Russian, US, New Zealand and South African consulates. Then there was a brief ceremony and then we concluded the event with a special punchoi feast inside a large ancestral hall in the village of Ho Sheung Hung.

Poonchoi is a traditional type of Chinese food served in wooden basins instead of the porcelain or metal kind. It was cooked over a fire and had layers of food on top of the other. The locals found this meal very tasty and exciting. As for me and the other foreignors... well let's say we ate a respectable amount.

Chinese New Year in HK

We celebrated our first Chinese Lunar New Year in Hong Kong by being hosted by Luo Lung Kwong and his family for a trip to the Victoria Park Flower Market. It was like a carnival, with rows of stalls, games, balloons, and more. I got to practice my first sentences in Cantonese, "Gei do chin?", and the kids each got to purchase helium filled ballons.

There were also numerous plants unique to celebrating Chinese New Year, such as a tall plant/shrub full of small mandarin oranges. Jiaozi are also common.

Adults also give out red packets (called laici or hongbao) with money inside to single adults and children. The purpose of the red packet is that the red color of the packet symbolizes good luck and honorability. The cash amount inside isn't important but should be of an even number as odd numbers are related to cash given during funerals

Wet Agriculture in Long Valley

Two of the projects I manage here at CA takes place in Long Valley.

Long Valley is an agricultural freshwater wetland, which is also a local biodiversity hotspot especially for birds, that was threatened several years ago by the development of a new KCR spurline. Hong Kong green groups, citizens and others all rallied together to stop this development and urge the government to instead find a way to conserve the last and largest remaining such wetland in Hong Kong. It worked and a portion of the New Nature Conservation Policy gave options for protection. Another source of funds came from the Sustainable Development Unit.

CA won funding from both these sources, resulting in the Sustainable Habitat Management for Long Valley and the Action Model for Sustainable Development in Long Valley. The crux of these projects is to foster sustainable development in Long Valley through habitat conservation, ecoguide training and a shift to organic farming. These three work together to address the core issues of sustainable development at the intersection of the social, economic and environmental.