30 Challenges
Community
&
Environment
Visit a country park you have never been to
There are 24 country parks in Hong Kong and hundreds of pocket parks in the city. Visit a country park, a hiking trail, or a city park that you have never been to before. How accessible is it?
Find a species of plant or animal you have not seen before
Though small and highly urbanized, Hong Kong is blessed with more than 3300 species of vascular plants, 55 species of terrestrial mammals, 570 species of birds, and 245 species of butterflies. Find a species that you have never seen before.
Count the carbon emission from your beverages for one day
Count the carbon emission from your beverages for one day. Are you surprised by your choices of beverage?
Get an unwanted item from someone and reuse or repurpose it
Has the useful life of something ceased because it is no longer useful, or do we just lack the imagination to make use of it? Receive an unwanted item from someone else and give it a second life. What are the hurdles? How much money have you saved? What impacts have you made on the environment?
Go veggie for a day
A vegetarian diet produces about 50% less carbon footprint than one with 100g meat per day, not to mention the health benefits. Go veggie for a day.
Read/Watch a story on the environment or an underprivileged group
Get to know more in depth about the environment or an underprivileged group (such as socioeconomic status, disabilities). Watch a documentary or read a long-form story on the subject. What have you learned? Have you changed the way you see things?
… and summarize it to a friend
The best way to learn is to teach. By summarizing the information, we are forced to make sense of what we read or watch, dig into the “why”, use it ourselves until the knowledge becomes ours. Do you feel a sense of satisfaction or groundedness from a firmer grasp of your knowledge?
Join a volunteer activity
Volunteering helps the community, but the benefits can be even greater for us. It allows us to connect with the community, learn new skills, keep us mentally stimulated, and provide a sense of purpose, all of which can combat depression.
Do not use single-used plastic for 48 hours
Plastic is a great material - it is lightweight, waterproof, and has a long life. It is also a key source of pollution. 91% of plastic waste is never recycled, and single-use plastics (SUP) in particular are traditionally hard to recycle because they fall into the crevices of recycling machinery. Try not to use SUP for 48 hours.
Zero waste for a day
On this day, you will reduce your waste disposal to as close to zero as you can. Consume only what you can and recycle all waste as much as possible, such as food leftovers, plastic bottles, metal cans, and paper.
Click here to download PDF.
