19
Recreation, Sport and the Arts
geopark guides to sit for assessment and regular re-assessment. Four candidates were successfully accredited as geopark guides in the first qualifying examination in March 2012.
Hong Kong Wetland Park
The 61-hectare Hong Kong Wetland Park, in the northern part of Tin Shui Wai and the southern tip of the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, is a special area designated under the Country Parks Ordinance and promotes wetland conservation, education and ecotourism in Hong Kong. The park gives visitors the opportunity to appreciate wetlands and the wildlife of Hong Kong in an open and natural setting. In 2012, the park attracted about 440,000 visitors. The park also organised various education and publicity programmes such as the 'The Blossoms on Wetland, 'Bouncy Wetlands' and 'Bird Watching Festival' to cultivate awareness of wetland conservation.
Green Promotion
Green Hong Kong Campaign
Various community and educational activities were organised in 2012 to enhance public awareness of the importance of 'greening' the environment. More than 880 schools and kindergartens took part in a 'Greening School Subsidy Scheme' to promote environmentally friendly initiatives. About 371,000 students from over 1,160 schools participated in a 'One Person, One Flower' programme. Seedlings were given to students to plant at home or in their schools.
The LCSD provides at least one community garden in each of the 18 districts. A total of 48 gardening courses were conducted during the year, attended by 10,410 participants. A total of 21 tree-planting activities were organised by the districts, attracting over 4,700 people.
Hong Kong Flower Show
The Hong Kong Flower Show provides an opportunity every year for hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people and horticulture lovers from around the world to enjoy the beauty and diversity of flowers and to share their experiences in flower cultivation. About 210 horticultural organisations from 21 countries took part in the show in March at Victoria Park, attracting over 560,000 visitors.
Horticulture and Landscape Services
The LCSD is responsible for planting and maintaining the plants at the city's public parks and recreational and sports venues. It also provides horticultural maintenance for the roadside amenity areas. In 2012, the department planted 2.88 million plants, including trees, shrubs and seasonal flowers and carried out landscape improvement projects for more than 20 hectares of park land and roadside amenity areas.
Websites
Home Affairs Bureau: www.hab.gov.hk
Leisure and Cultural Services Department: www.lcsd.gov.hk
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department: www.afcd.gov.hk
347