Green Week 2021, Inter-House Biodiversity Challenge

The Inter-House Biodiversity Challenge encouraged students to get outside and take photographs of wild species of plants and animals around the region using the iNaturalist App.

A whooping 8,078 observations have been undertaken and within that they have identified 1,188 different species. An overview of the observations can be viewed at this link.

Hong Kong’s biodiversity is rich with;

3,000 species of flowering plants,

55 species of terrestrial mammals,

100 species of amphibians and reptiles,

200 species of freshwater fish,

128 species dragonflies,

245 species butterflies and

Over 550 species of birds (one third of the total bird species in China).

Shaun Martin from the WWF talked to the environmental ambassadors WANBO about Hong Kong’s biodiversity. He explained that nature helps us for free, providing us with a wide variety of ecosystem services. Whether it’s the provisional services that we directly take or the regulating services that we benefit from, here in Hong Kong we are lucky enough to have a climate that provides a humid environment which houses a multitude of subtropical species.

Pollution, climate change, urban development and invasive species, have resulted in populations decreasing, some by as much as 68%. But there are a multitude of things that can be done to improve the living habitats of creatures. We can eat a more plant-based diet and  buy only what we need, or join surveys and raise awareness about the issues.

The inter-House competition has now closed but students and families can still download the  App, and start taking pictures of nature!

For more information about Hong Kong’s current wildlife, visit: The Natural Environment, Plants & Animals in Hong Kong to read more.

Take a look at what the participants have observed around our City.