ENG-2014 — Page 372

19

Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

Visitors can enjoy and learn about the beauty and diversity of Hong Kong's marine life at four marine parks and one marine reserve. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department manages the country parks, special areas, marine parks, marine reserve, the Hong Kong Wetland Park and Hong Kong Global Geopark of China.

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 Hong Kong's wildlife in an open and natural setting. In 2014, the park attracted about 460,000 visitors. The park also organised various education and publicity programmes to cultivate awareness of wetland conservation.

Hong Kong Global Geopark of China

The Hong Kong Global Geopark occupies 50 square kilometres of land distributed across two regions: the Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region and the Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region. The Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region contains spectacular hexagonal volcanic rock columns, of a size and composition rarely found elsewhere in the world. The Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region has rocks formed over 400 million years ago, making them of great geological and educational interest.

The Hong Kong Global Geopark Volcano Discovery Centre at Sai Kung Waterfront Park was opened on 15 July 2014. It is accessible by a wide range of public transport and is an ideal point to start a visit to the Hong Kong Geopark.

In collaboration with the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and the Association for Geoconservation, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Geopark has set up an accredited geopark guide system to ensure the quality of the interpretation and guide services for visitors.

Green Hong Kong Campaign

The LCSD provides at least one community garden in each of the 18 districts. A total of 11,420 participants attended the 53 gardening courses conducted in 2014, and over 6,332 people took part in 22 tree-planting activities organised by the districts.

Various activities were organised in 2014 to promote public awareness of the importance of 'greening' the environment. More than 350 local celebrities joined the 'Green Ambassador Scheme, over 5,100 people joined the 'Green Volunteer Scheme' to help promote community greening, and more than 880 schools and kindergartens took part in a 'Greening School Subsidy Scheme' to promote environmentally friendly initiatives. About 372,000 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.

308