“Secondary School Coral Nursery Education Programme”

We just entered the third year of this programme with the support of AFCD. Eighteen schools are participating in the “Secondary School Coral Nursery Education Programme” this year. Same as the previous years, students and teachers could learn more about coral biology and ecology through workshops, seminars and hands-on practices on maintenance of coral tanks and monitoring of corals’ growth and health. Due to the pandemic, some activities were temporarily put on hold. Still, we prepared a range of e-learning materials to enhance students’ understanding on coral nursery even at home. This programme will be resumed after students getting back to school. A summary of our annual programme can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/tAPN0AVpHXs

Coral Adoption by Mr. Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment

Mr. Wong Kam-sing, together with Professor Rocky S. Tuan, President of CUHK, and Mr. Eric S.P. Ng, Vice-President of CUHK, adopted corals and visited our coral culturing facilities at the Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, CUHK last year. They also sent their wishes to the corals by leaving messages on the tag attached on the base of the coral. Our research team has been regularly monitoring and recording the status of the corals after they were out planted to the sea. They have been growing healthily since they returned to the field.

“Citizen Scientist Programme: Coral Rescuer”

In 2021, Coral Academy and WWF co-organized a Citizen Scientist Programme: Coral Rescuer, under the sponsorship of Trust Tomorrow initiative by Swire. Local SCUBA divers who are keen on marine conservation were invited to join this programme and become citizen scientists. A “Coral Rescue Team” was assembled to assist in the restoration and monitoring of local coral communities. Workshops and trainings have been carried out to deliver basic knowledge about corals, identification of different species and ideas on coral restoration works. After the trainings, the citizen scientists participating in this project were led by our research team to rescue coral fragments that fall naturally in the sea, and regularly recorded their growth. The “Coral Rescue Team” also conducted ecological surveys at different dive sites to record changes in the health of coral communities. Want to learn more about this programme? Click https://youtu.be/l-Hg8XbJ4Bs now!

Learn About Coral Communities and Conservation in Tung Ping Chau Marine Park Workshop

Participants had a quick glimpse of Hong Kong’s marine ecology as well as the magnificent coral world through different interactive activities, including an introductory seminar on corals, coral identification workshops, and a guided eco-shore exploration in the marine park to observe various traces of intertidal wildlife and corals. Afterwards, participants visited the coral culturing facilities at the Simon F.S. Li Marine Science Laboratory CUHK, and ended the day with a first-hand experience of coral adoption.

Our Impact

In the year 2020-2021, we have reached over 3000 students and teachers from 22 schools through our school-based outreach programmes. Together with the Coral Rescuer programme, which acted as a pioneer citizen scientist programme in coral restoration for the public, it is hoped that the efforts contributed by these participants could be continued with more people and be expanded to other marine conservation works. Apart from delivering the knowledge about coral communities and marine lives in Hong Kong, through the experiences they gained in person from the activities provided by Coral Academy, we believe that more people will be inspired to take a step forward in changing their behavior and mentality towards marine conservation and restoration.