Jan – Mar 2017

Sustainable

Campus

Promotion

Community

Engagement

Sustainable Campus Promotion

01 Goodbye monkey and hello GREEN rooster!

3 – 10, 16 – 25 Jan 2017 (Before Chinese New Year)6 – 18 Feb 2017 (After Chinese New Year)

HKBU

Coming towards the end of the year ofthe Monkey, small electrical appliancesrecycling and renewed red packetsdistribution have been organised assome of the yearly signature events.Many shops and companies distributedfree new calendars as promotion tools,we usually got more then we need.Therefore, surplus 2017 calendarscollection was newly introduced andover 70 calendars were beingredistributed among the Universitycommunity.

Over 20,000 renewed red packets andover 70 year 2017 calendars have beendistributed to the University community.

To have a “green” start of the yearof the Rooster, collection countersand stations were set up aroundcampus to collect renewed redpackets for distribution next yearand collect CNY gifts to donate toFeeding Hong Kong, a local foodbank dedicated to redistributingsurplus food to people in need.

The Green CNY initiatives attractedmedia attention and was featured byWen Wei Po on 17 Jan 2017.

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02 Your opinion matters

13 Feb 2017 Academic and Administration Building (AAB), HKBU

The staff and student greenambassadors network in HKBU play akey role in promoting a sustainablelife style on campus and HKBU valuestheir opinions when formulatingsustainability policies and initiatives.A Staff and Student GreenAmbassadors Sharing Luncheon wasorganised during which participantsraised common concerns and gavevaluable suggestions about thecurrent energy-saving measures oncampus particular on the use of air-

Mr. Andy Lee, VPAS, and Mr. LC Lam, Directorof Estates, answer ambassadors’ enquiries oncampus sustainability initiatives.

To avoid unnecessary catering waste,participants are encouraged to bring theirown reusable utensils for lunch and nodisposables utensils are provided.

A student green ambassador raises herconcerns on campus energy-savingmeasures.

conditioning and lighting. A new initiative launched by HKBU for tracking thecampus environmental sustainability performance was also introduced in theluncheon.

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03 Collective green effort - #STRAWSNOMORE

24 Mar 2017 HKBU

Have you noticed the#STRAWSNOMORE posters aroundcampus? A semester long “No StrawMovement” campaign was initiatedby LAMP students to promote greendining in five caterers on campusincluding BU Fiesta, Harmony StudentCafeteria, Main Canteen, PacificCoffee and Starbucks Coffee. Duringthe campaign, caterers will onlyprovide drinking straws uponcustomers’ request. As quantity-based municipal solid waste chargingscheme is coming into effect soon, itis important to raise the Universitycommunity’s awareness on properwaste management attitude andpractices on campus.

Glass straws giveaway on the previous ‘No Straw Day’ at Main Canteen.

On “No Straw Day”, the participatingcaterer will not provide drinking straws,and no straws will be available at theself-serving cutlery section. The first‘No Straw Day’ was held on 17 Mar atMain Canteen to encourage Universitymembers’ behavioral change whilegiving up disposable straws. Reusableglass straws were introduced by LAMPstudents as an alternative todisposable plastic straws.

Interested in getting a free glass straw?See you at BU Fiesta on 20 Apr for theupcoming “No Straw Day”!

Join the #STRAWSNOMORE challenge to get a free glass straw!

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04 3, 2, 1… Lights off!

24 - 25 Mar 2017 HKBU

Earth Hour is the largest collectiveenvironmental event in the world, whichsees individuals and organisations fromall sectors of society turning off theirnon-essential lights for an hour as asymbol of their commitment to theplanet. HKBU supported Earth Hour forthe sixth consecutive year by switchingoff non-essential lights on campusduring the event and collected over 300participation pledges from the Universitycommunity on 24 March.

A student pledges to participate in Earth Hour by signing on the board.

05 Return of The Veg Fête 2017

26 – 31 Mar 2017 HKBU

Followed by the great success of theveggie carnival in previous years, theweeklong Veg Fête 2017 hasreturned to BU Green Corner topromote green healthy diet andlifestyle to the public and Universitycommunity! This year, the carnivalincluded three zones: “Taste Green”,“Buy Green”, and “Play Green”where participants can have fun andexperience living a green lifestyle atthe same time!

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A bookshelf made of upcycled wood isavailable at BU Green Corner for theUniversity community to exchange unwantedbooks.

05 Return of The Veg Fête 2017 (Cont’d)

Farmers’ market is part of the “BuyGreen” zone and local organic vegetableis one of the hot items of the day.

One of the workshops in the “PlayGreen” zone teaches participants tomake body scrub from coffee grounds.

In the “Taste Green” zone, participantsenjoy veggie experience with the localvegetarian restaurants.

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The Veg Fête 2017 attracted over 4,000participants over the week with a seriesof activities in the three zones. In the“Buy Green” zone, over 22 local brandshave showcased their green products,including organic farm produce andfood and beverages, natural skincareitems, pot plants, fair trade productsand upcycling accessories.

In the “Taste Green” zone, localvegetarian restaurants changed public’sperception towards “old-fashioned”vegetarian food by serving fusionvegetarian dishes. Besides, over 1,000participants have completed the “VeggieChallenge” in the “Play Green” zone andlocally grown fresh organic vegetableswere given to them as rewards.

In the “Play Green” zone, over 30sessions of eco-workshop includingfabric upcycling, natural skin care andplant-rubbing print were organised toengage over 700 participants. Interactiveeducational game booths were set up toeducate the public and the Universitycommunity on topics of wasteseparation, carbon footprints of dailyactivities and food miles.

Community Engagement

14 Jan 2017Tai Po Wet Market

To rescue surplus food from going tolandfills, LAMP students volunteeredwith Food Grace on 14 January. A totalof 228.3kg vegetables were collected intwo wet markets in Tai Po, which will beredistributed to various charity centres.All the shopkeepers were verysupportive to the initiative of savingsurplus vegetables, they kept and pre-packed the vegetables to facilitate FoodGrace’s collection process. Studentswere surprised that valuable items suchas dried mushrooms have also beencollected from dried seafood store.

Student records the amount of foodbeing collected.

01 Save surplus food with Food Grace

228.3 kg of surplus food is collected, which is enough for the consumption of 20 people for 5 days.

Students collect vegetables with staff of Food Grace in wet market.

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02 City Treasure Hunt - Polyfoam Recycling 21 Jan 2017

Missing Link – Polyfoam Recycling Scheme, Tsuen Wan

We come across polyfoam products almost everyday and undoubtedly the use ofpolyfoam containers and packaging make our lives easier. However, improperdisposal of polyfoam products will lead to environmental disasters. As polyfoamare made from non-renewable petroleum-based chemicals, they are notbiodegradable and will remain in the landfill for centuries. With properseparation and collection, polyfoam can be recycled and turned into plastic rawmaterials.

BUGS members help to collect fruitnets from wet markets in Tsuen Wan.

All tapes and plastic films on thepolyfoam have to be removed beforeputting into the recycling machine.

HKBU has supported polyfoam recyclingsince 2011 and 10 BUGS members went astep further to experience the recyclingprocess at the Missing Link – PolyfoamRecycling Scheme on 21 January. Theylearnt about the properties of differenttypes of plastic and helped with the pre-treatment process to remove all thetapes, labels and plastic films on thepolyfoam before undergoing the hotmelting and regeneration process.

Plastic pellets made from recycled polyfoamare graded according to the color. Grade Aplastic pellets with cleared color have thehighest flexibility for regeneration.

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Participants plant potato with compostas fertiliser.

Limited land supply has long been amajor challenge for Hong Kong.While we are struggling for landsupply on housing, why would wecome to the topic of developing localurban farming? Local urban farmingactually serve the purposes to builda greener town and ease the effectsof global warming in the city. Thevisit to Mapopo Community Farminspires the participants onsustainable development and thefeasibility of urban farming.

Besides learning the skills to plantpotato at home and in office, aninformative mini-lecture was providedby Mr. Lau Hoi Lung, the founder ofCUHK Agriculture Developmental Groupand the part-time Instructor of CUHK, togive participants a comprehensivebackground on sustainable urbanfarming and urban town planning.Utilising food waste to produce compostfor growing plants helps to reduce wasteto landfill, to provide citizens withhealthier organic vegetables as well asto relieve Hong Kong’s heavy reliance onfood importation.

Local farm guided tour introduce participantsto the mechanism of a sustainable and self-supported farm.

03 Let’s plant and be an urban farmer!

12 Feb 2017 Mapopo Community Farm

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04 Killing the “plant killer”

4 Mar 2017 Mai Po Nature Reserve

Piles of Mikania removed by the BUGS volunteersafter three hours of hard work.

Do you know who the villain of theplant kingdom is? The “plant killer” -Mikania is renowned for itsunstoppable colonisation and lack ofnatural predators. Mikania sprawlsout rapidly in spring and summerand can grow up to nine centimetresa day, which is the reason for itsname “mile-a-minute weed”.

Similar to the habit of other climbers, Mikaniaclimbs up other plants to reach the canopy forbetter sunlight and will eventually cover upand kill other plants by cutting out the light forphotosynthesis and smothering them. To haltMikania’s destructive path and protect thelocal species in the Mai Po Nature Reserve, agroup of 17 BU Greenies (BUGS) volunteersput their gloves on and pulled out about threebig carts of Mikania from the roots on 4 March.

BUGS volunteers identify Mikania by itsheart-shaped leaves and remove thosesprawls across the floor and the other trees.

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