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The Green Earth champions love for nature trails and Leave No Trace principles.

“Hong Kong Trails Day 2024” kick-off

(11 November 2024) To promote conserving the nature trails, The Green Earth (TGE) has designated October 26 each year as The Hong Kong Trails Day. The date marks the inauguration of Hong Kong’s first long distance hiking trail, the MacLehose Trail, and features a series of nature-related activities. Due to the recent typhoon, the kick-off ceremony was postponed and held yesterday, to launch a series of public activities, marking the beginning of this year's events. One of the highlights is the “Nature Trail Badge Challenge” running from now until the end of January 2025. Participants of the challenge can visit any of the six designated trail routes and complete the specific tasks to collect a limited-edition trail badge. Each trail has its own badge design. TGE hopes the activity can encourage the public to understand the trail stories during hiking, and learn how to protect the trails and the surrounding habitats.

At the kick-off ceremony, Mr. Edwin Lau, Founder and Executive Director of The Green Earth, stated “As autumn begins, there has been a noticeable increase in hiking crowds, along with various issues, including littering, graffiti, illegal camping and unprepared hikers requiring rescue.” He hopes that the public should learn proper outdoor etiquettes and practice Leave No Trace principles to protect the natural beauty of the countryside while satisfying their recreational needs. The government should also infuse green tourism promotion with Leave No Trace education, and adopt sustainable trail management to properly conserve Hong Kong’s countryside resources to maintain tourism appeal.

Prof. Nora Tam Fung-yee, Board Member of TGE and Emeritus Professor of Department of Chemistry at City University of Hong Kong, also stated, "There is a traditional saying in Chinese: 'harmony between man and nature,' where 'harmony' is the key. If people consume our countryside in ways that exceed its environmental capacity, future generations might not be able to enjoy the beautiful nature ever again.”

Prof Chau Kwai-cheong, the project’s advisor and Adjunct Associate Professor of the Department of Geography & Resource Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong officiated at the ceremony. Our guest speaker, Mr. Kwok Chi-piu, Hong Kong ancient trail researcher, shared the history of the ancient trails around Ma On Shan. Hiking lovers, such as celebrities Andrew Pong and Virginia Lau, also attended the “Hong Kong Trail Day 2024” to show their support for the event and the subsequent activities.

The “Hong Kong Trails Day 2024” event was held yesterday at the ELCHK Grace Youth Camp at Ma On Shan, featured a series of fun activities for the public, including Handcrafted Trails and Leave No Trace Mini-exhibition, Trail Maintenance Tools DIY (netted rock assemblages and stone transport bag crafting), Trail Traveler Sharing Sessions and the “Nature Trail Badge Challenge” Experience Tour. Participants could enjoy the beautiful scenery of Ma On Shan countryside while deepening their connection with nature through hands-on experience serving the nature trails.

At the kick-off ceremony, Ms. Vivien Cheng, Director of Community Partnership of TGE, announced the publication of two new books. The first one is the first Hong Kong’s kids picture book explaining the seven principles of Leave No Trace through local real examples, titled “What Happened To Our Mountain Friends?”. The story features seven well-known mountains of Hong Kong including Lions Rock, Tai Mo Shan, etc.. who express their grievances over visitors’ improper behaviours. Eventually, humans must find ways to appease their displeased mountain friends. The books will be distributed free to all kindergartens and primary schools, with an online audiobook available for the public, parents and children to read together. TGE also partners with the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) Shatin – Department of Child Care, Elderly and Community Services to organise a “Nature Picture Book Ambassador Training Program”, which invites over 90 students from the Higher Diploma in Play-based Learning Programme to participate training on Leave No Trace knowledge and storytelling techniques for picture books. After completing the training, the students will volunteer as tutors in kindergartens and primary schools, leading storytelling workshops to teach children proper attitudes at nature.

The second publication is a booklet titled the “Case Study for Handcrafted Practical Works of Hong Kong Hiking Trails” co-authored by TGE and Arup. This booklet documents the cases of TGE’s volunteers participating in the trail repairing workshops, serving as a reference for interested parties. Ms. Claudia Yu, East Asia Nature Positive Design Leader and Landscape Architecture Leader at Arup, stated in the kick-off ceremony: “We are thrilled to collaborate with The Green Earth on this case sharing for handcrafted works of hiking trails, which highlights common trail issues and best practices in handcrafted trail maintenance. By actively engaging with the community and sharing our expertise, we hope to leverage our skills and foster meaningful change. This project also illustrates how Nature-based Solutions can be applied in diverse contexts.”

TGE is also producing video series on Leave No Trace education, targeting countryside users in different languages. The first video pays tribute to the classic Indian romance film “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”, featuring the well-known YouTuber couple, New Dellily and KU, who show the audience how to enjoy nature without creating environmental impacts. Additionally, the new website of “Jockey Club Leave No Trace Education Programme” is now live. The public can find the aforementioned publications, video productions and more Leave No Trace educational resources on the website (https://www.greenearth.org.hk/naturetrails).

Another popular activity, “Trail Repairing Volunteer Squad Training Programme”, is now open for registration. This year, we will recruit 50 new volunteers to participate in handcrafted trail repairing training. The application deadline is on 14 November 2024.

The “Jockey Club Leave No Trace Education Programme”, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, aims to provide information and practical methods for Leave No Trace. Through a series of public engagement activities (including publications, exhibitions, volunteer trail maintenance, etc.), the programme seeks to build knowledge and awareness of "Sustainable Trails" and "Sustainable Countryside." Ultimately, this programme aims to teach people to conduct outdoor activities in a correct and environmentally friendly manner, allowing people to enjoy and protect the beauty of nature simultaneously. 

For the programme details, please visit https://www.greenearth.org.hk/naturetrails

TGE Website：https://greenearth.org.hk/

TGE Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/greenearthhk

TGE Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/greenearthhk

Hong Kong Trails Day Key Activity - Nature Trail Badge Challenge

Period: 26 Oct, 2024 (Monday) to 31 Jan, 2025 (Friday)
Locations: Man On Shan Country Trail / Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail / MacLehose Trail Section 4 / Mau Pak Ancient Trail / Tai Tong Thousand-Island Lake / Sunset Peak
Activity: Participants of the challenge can visit any of the six designated trail routes and complete the specific tasks to collect a limited-edition trail badge. Each trail has its own badge design. Additionally, participants who clean up the trail while hiking will be awarded the "Guardian of the mountain" Special badge!

For more information, please visit https://hktrailsday.greenearth.org.hk

About Hong Kong Trails Day

The Green Earth has designated 26 October every year as "Hong Kong Trails Day." This day is also the "birthday" (opening day) of the MacLehose Trail, which was the first long-distance hiking trail in Hong Kong. Our initiative is to promote the protection and care of natural trails, as well as build public awareness of “Sustainable Trails” and the “Leave No Trace” principles.

About Jockey Club Leave No Trace Education Programme

Hong Kong's countryside is rich in natural resources. Hiking and seaside activities have become one of the best pastimes for Hong Kong residents in recent years. However, if everyone habitually brings the convenient lifestyle of the city into their hiking activities, it will lead to the rapid deterioration of natural resources and scenic beauty. Therefore, hiking also has its own set of etiquettes that we must follow. By leaving no trace, we can ensure that natural resources remain sustainable for future generations to enjoy.

The “Jockey Club Leave No Trace Education Programme” aims to provide information and practical methods for "Leave No Trace." Through a series of public engagement activities (including publications, exhibitions, volunteer trail maintenance, etc.), the programme seeks to build knowledge and awareness of "Sustainable Trails" and "Sustainable Countryside." Ultimately, this programme aims to teach people to conduct outdoor activities in a correct and environmentally friendly manner, allowing them to enjoy and protect the beauty of nature simultaneously.

For more information, please visit: https://www.greenearth.org.hk/naturetrails

Supporting Organisations: Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department / The Thousand Miles Trail Association, Taiwan / Concern Group on Concretization of Hong Kong Natural Trails / Association for Geoconservation, Hong Kong / Scout Association of Hong Kong / Association for Sha Tau Kok Culture and Ecology / HKTraveler / Oasistrek / TrailWatch / Grace Youth Camp / Wu Chi Qiao / Hong Kong Hiking Association, China. / Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen) / Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Sha Tin)

About The Green Earth

The Green Earth is a local charitable organisation dedicated to facilitating action by igniting green energy throughout our community, promoting resource conservation and a zero-waste culture by changing attitudes, and turning Hong Kong into a healthy green city through public education and community mobilisation. Our scope of work includes promoting Sustainability Policy, Green Corporate Partnership, and Green Civic Education.

We focus on providing practical environmental information, green solutions, and eco-friendly training to encourage citizens and businesses to take on green civic responsibilities. For more information, please visit: https://greenearth.org.hk/.

Media Enquiry

For media inquiries, please contact: Director of Community Partnership of The Green Earth - Ms Vivien Cheng

(852) 3708 8380 / [email protected]

Activity details：https://hktrailsday.greenearth.org.hk/join-event/