Press Releases
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Millennium tree planting campaign kicks off Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, together with Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Mrs Lessie Wei, today (March 12) announced the commencement of this year's Community Tree Planting Scheme. Speaking at a launching ceremony, Mrs Lily Yam noted the long history of organised tree planting campaign held by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) every year to involve the community in greening our countryside. "With more than 40 years of continued efforts in afforestation, barren lands once suffered from erosion have become forested areas. "The government will carry on with its work. We will do our best while active involvement from the public is also vital," she said. More than 1000 people participated in a tree planting event held in Ngong Ping, Sai Kung, this morning to help rehabilitating plantation damaged by hillfire. This is the first of a series of five planting events of the Millennium Tree Planting Scheme, a major highlight of this year's Community Tree Planting Scheme. Each planting event will take on a particular focus and objective, emphasizing one of the important functions of tree planting. These objectives include planting for fire rehabilitation, erosion control, green belt, landscaping and bio-diversity. Participants of each planting event are required to walk up a certain distance to a designated planting site. Mrs Lessie Wei said actual involvement in planting and hiking activities would help participants to have a better understanding of our natural environment and the importance of its conservation. The Community Tree Planting Scheme also includes Corporate Afforestation Scheme. Every company engaged in the Corporate Afforestation Scheme has to plant a minimum of 10,000 trees and maintain these trees in the following three years. For the past two years, more than 19 corporations have joined the scheme with a total of 240,000 trees planted in our neighbourhood countryside. This year, nine corporations signed in for participation and a total of 90,000 seedlings will be planted. Both Mrs Yam and Mrs Wei were happy to see the encouraging response from the public, noting that it was a success of the environmental education in Hong Kong. "We are pleased to see that commercial corporations do take part and care about our natural environment. "Their support with actual participation to help build a green environment for our community is invaluable," Mrs Yam added.
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