ICHK Hong Lok Yuen Forest
The First Miyawaki Forest in Hong Kong.
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Youth Impacted
ICHK Hong Lok Yuen is an accredited Forest School Leadership Centre, which is the highest form of recognition for Forest Schools. Only a few Forest School programmes exist in Hong Kong, and ICHK is the only example of the ethos encompassing the whole school.
As outdoor education is a core aspect of their teaching, they were the perfect candidate to set up the first Miyawaki forest in Hong Kong. Students from grades 4-6 (9-12 years old) were involved not only in planting over 300 tree and shrub seedlings, but personally made name tags for every tree in the forest. They will also be involved in the continuing documentation and monitoring of how the forest grows, and will have the opportunity to immerse in the space through its walkway and barefoot sensory path, observing what biodiversity the site attracts over time.
The school has also set up a timelapse camera that will be part of capturing its transformation.
Forest Maker
Camilla Zanzanaini
“The Miyawaki Forest will be a key element for the school to fulfil its vision of being a leader in outdoor learning. By enabling the children to be part of developing and nurturing a vibrant ecosystem, we are empowering them to learn about and love the natural world. This not only enriches their lives but enriches the world around them.”
Derek Pinchbeck — Head of School
Forest Report: 2023
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This forest struggled a little in the beginning due to some uneven soil mixing and using the wrong mulch (wood chips). But they have since been removed and replaced with leaf/grass-based mulch, and the forest has recovered well, with all trees now in good condition. After the summer rains, the forest has blossomed and in just 6 months, some trees have grown by 2-3m, while others have become more bushy. The forest now has a mean height of about 180cm, with plenty of little saplings growing.
There are still patches of the forest that are growing better than others. The sunniest areas that are also closest to existing bamboo trees have struggled the most, whereas areas near the fence and the lower end of the forest have grown the best.
The lower end used to have a flooding problem (previously a sand pit), and since planting the forest, this is no longer an issue. The Shell Ginger which we used to border this end has grown beautifully, and is now the suspected home of small frogs and definitely some weaver ant nests.
Biodiversity Notes:
Several trees have started to produce seeds, including the HK Abacus Plant (Glochidion zeylanicum) and Daphnyphllum. One of the three endangered Camphor Trees we planted is growing extremely well and has a beautiful green trunk (similar to a bamboo colour).
Insects and worms are increasing, and symbiotic relationships have been observed (ants "farming" treehoppers for honeydew). There is one existing mulberry tree on the edge of the forest that has always attracted birds, we hope the new ones planted (3) will also start to bear fruit next year (March). It will probably be a few more years before the Strawberry Trees have fruit (Myrica rubra). 2/3 critically endangered Small Persimmon (Diospyros vaccinioides) planted have survived and are doing well, which is great!
We have observed lots of vines and climbers growing, and realise that there are some we need to keep in check, as invasive species such as Mikania are included. But there are some beautiful climbing figs now covering parts of forest floor and neighboring fence.
There are also some small flowers, including native daisies (Eclipta prostrata), and not-so-native but quite harmless Mexican Ruella, which add a nice purple touch.
Forest Report: 2022
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This is a resilient forest with a high survival rate, though is growing more slowly than the typical rapid Miyawaki pace. This is not surprising given the challenges the forest faced in its first year (insect attacks, issues with chemical contamination from wood chips and very poor soil located at the site pre-intervention).
The Clammy Cherry (Cordia dichotoma) has now grown over 500%, with the tallest example now at 220cm. The species were all under 30cm when planted. The girth of the tallest Clammy Cherry is an impressive 12 cm.
A number of native ‘weeds’ that are actually medicinal plants, such as the Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria) and Old World Diamond (Oldenlandia corymbosa), are growing. Most have been left in place unless they were crowded tree bases/roots.
Biodiversity Notes:
Most interesting is the presence of a lot of new native tree saplings that must’ve made their way either from nearby trees or from the compost/mulch. These new plants are filling in the gaps. We also identified several pioneer species among these, such as the Parasol Leaf (Tanarius Macaranga), Turn-in-the-wind (Mallotus Paniculatus) and Mountain Tallow tree (Sapium discolor), none of which we were originally able to plant due to unavailability in August 2021. We are confident these developments will see the forest flourish in its second year!
Angled castor butterflies (Ariadne ariadne), handmaiden moths (Syntomoides imaon), along with various red bugs and millipedes. We found a bird feather, most likely from a Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus).
Planting: August 2021
