The School of Biological Sciences, partnering with Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Yan Oi Tong took 30 secondary school and HKU students on a 15-day field trip to the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador last summer. Biological Sciences Principal Lecturer Dr Billy Hau Chi-hang, who led the tour, said the training and tour gave students an opportunity to explore their interests in environmental protection.

 

They were to visit a remote community in the Amazon rainforest, as well as the Cuyabeno and Yasuni wildlife parks, both protected under National Parks Ordinance (NPO). But preparing the students for the experience started long before the adventure began.

 

“Before the trip we practised the methodology,” said Dr Hau. “We visited Mai Po Marshes, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve where they get used to identifying the flora and fauna. While the species would be different in the rainforest, the methodology is the same wherever you are. I also asked them to study the species that they would be likely to see in Ecuador, so that they would recognise them and know their habits and habitats instantly when the time came.”

 

The trip was not only a lesson in recognising wildlife though – its main message was the importance of conserving and protecting the environment. The students learned about ‘Leave No Trace’ policy.

 

“In Ecuador we stayed in a remote village, a petroleum town, in the rainforest,” said Dr Hau. “Even getting there was a unique experience. We arrived at Quito airport, took a two-hour bus ride to the Amazon River, followed by a five-hour journey by motor canoe up river to the field station. It was a

very different world to what the students are used to.”

 

“What shocked me most was there was no internet access at all when you are in the rainforest… one of the owners of the lodge pulled a practical joke on the Wi-Fi-obsessed students by hanging up a poster saying ‘Free Wi-Fi’ and the password is ‘welcome to the jungle’,” said student Mr Wilbert Li.

A 15-day field trip to the Amazon rainforest for 30 participating secondary school and HKU students. During the trip, they paid a visit to the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, one of the protected areas in the Amazon region.

Zero Discharge Policy

 

“In the rainforest we looked at impact of extraction and of eco-tourism on biodiversity,” said Dr Hau. “We stayed in wooden lodges with no electricity. Water was pumped from the river on one side, waste-water pumped out on the other side of the river after a wetland waste water treatment system. The NPO has a zero discharge policy on waste, and impact is kept to a minimum.

 

“Everything is boated in, and out. Even the sheets from our beds were transported out by canoe for laundering. They do not want to launder on-site as it would impact the environment. We were surprised by this attention to what seemed like a relatively low-impact thing. But the NPO is seriously trying to minimise the impact on the environment and even the small steps count.”

 

The group also met researchers in the field and were able to learn from them. They spoke to Professor Kelly Swing of the University of San Francisco in Quito, who runs a research centre in the Amazon, Dr Ryan Lynch who manages a nature reserve in Ecuador, and Luis Suarez from Conservation International, an international NGO in Quito, whose programmes concentrate on conservation in local communities. The students later wrote up case studies on the challenges they face and the successes they are having.

 

The Yan Oi Tong, which organised the trip, has a long history of collaboration with HKU, a relationship which was started back in 2007 by the Earth Science Department’s Professor Chan Lung-sang. He organised the first field trips with the NGO with the aim of passing on knowledge to secondary school students. Each year the groups that go comprise a mix of HKU research postgraduate and PhD students and teenagers from secondary schools around Hong Kong.

 

“The idea is we provide training to secondary school students,” said Dr Hau. “Five of our Department’s MPhils and PhDs train the students and I train the trainers. Then they supervise the students throughout the trip. It’s knowledge exchange – passing on the baton of learning.

 

“The first three years the initial field trips were geology focussed and went to the North Pole, the South Poles, and Mount Everest. In the fourth year they went to Kenya, then this year to the Amazon,” said Dr Hau. “They are an invaluable part of HKU’s commitment to knowledge
exchange.”

Students meeting researchers in the field to broaden their horizons.