In recent months, Hong Kong experienced unprecedented social unrest and news about stray animals, birds and insects affected or killed by teargas has been reported online. Until today, the general public still do not have information on the impact of teargas on human beings and animals. A day after a violent clash at the protest where large amount of teargas was deployed, TrailWatch visited Lung Fu Shan Country Park with the founders of Project Crow. The mountain is still peaceful as usual, we sat next to the stream and talked about our beloved Hong Kong and the mountains.
Seeing Ecology as a Profession
Founded in 2018 by Matthew Kwan and Hoi-Ling Cheng, Project Crow is an organisation that provides nature guided tours to the public. While one is a bird lover; the other is obsessed with moths. Even though they love the mountain and the countryside, it does not affect their concerns and involvement with what happened in the city.
“When the residential building Mont Vert was being developed back in the years, the Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve was greatly affected. Being a F.6 student, I read through the entire Environmental Impact Assessment report and signed the petition but it did not stop the development”, said Hoi Ling. The Umbrella Movement five years ago made them felt discouraged and always question what they can do more for their hometown.
On 1 July 2015, with her camera ready, Hoi Ling planned to attend the 7.1 demonstration. At the very last minute, she decided to take a break and visit Tai Po Kau instead. On that visit, she spotted the “Bocana manifestalis Walker” which was the first ever recorded in Hong Kong. Hoi Ling realised then she can in fact do something for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Is More Than Just the People
Matthew is diagnosed with dyslexia when he was young and could not fit into the mainstream education system in Hong Kong, and the choice was to study abroad in the UK instead. When he was deciding to stay in the UK for university or not, he decided to move back to Hong Kong. Since then, he publishes articles about birdwatching regularly and actively engage the community to connect with nature in Hong Kong. TrailWatch was very lucky to have Matthew to curate the Hike & Seek: TrailWatch 5th Anniversary Exhibition, bringing the countryside of Hong Kong to the city.
In the name of development combining with other social factors, Matthew questioned that, “We are losing some things everyday but do we know what exactly have we lost?”. Creating a legacy for a place is a grand vision that not everyone can achieve; however, Matthew and Hoi Ling are observing and recording the smallest detail of the undiscovered Hong Kong.