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The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:
The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) today (September 27) presented awards to 29 schools (list at Annex) in recognition of their environmental protection efforts under the ninth Hong Kong Green School Award (HKGSA) scheme.
The theme of this year's awards was climate change, including an aim to spread the message of low carbon living to teachers, non-teaching staff, students and their families, in the hope that they would adopt a greener lifestyle to combat climate change.
Officiating at today's presentation ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were the Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Ms Anissa Wong; Chairman of the ECC, Professor David Lung; Deputy Secretary for Education, Dr Catherine Chan; and Convenor of the ECC Education Working Group, Mr Hui Yung-chung. Representatives from co-organisers, including Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Vocational Training Council, also joined the event.
"The HKGSA is divided into Pre-school, Primary School and Secondary School categories. The award scheme was well-received in all three categories of schools, and there was a 15 per cent increase in the number of entries compared with last year," a spokesman for the ECC said.
In the pre-school category there were 110 entries. Assessment was made according to four criteria, namely Environmental Infrastructure, Environmental Management, Environmental Education and Parents' Participation in Environmental Activities. This year, eight award-winning pre-schools were presented with cash prizes ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
A total of 103 entries were received under the primary school and secondary school categories. The schools underwent assessment according to four criteria, namely Environmental Policy and Campus Environment, Environmental Management Measures, Environmental Education Plan and Implementation and Environmental Education Effectiveness. Schools meeting the benchmark scores in all of the four assessment criteria qualify as a "Hong Kong Green School". Accordingly, 14 primary schools and seven secondary schools received the title of Hong Kong Green School.
Under the partnership of the HKGSA and the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE), green schools will be referred to compete for HKAEE Sectoral Awards under the schools sector. At today's ceremony, winning schools of the 2010 HKAEE were also presented with cash prizes ranging from $2,000 to $60,000. Two Gold Award winning schools of the 2010 HKAEE Sectoral Awards in the Primary School and Secondary School Sub-sectors, namely Pui Ching Primary School and CCC Tam Lee Lai Fun Memorial Secondary School, were invited to share their environmental vision and passion through drama performance and experience sharing.
Launched in 2000 and sponsored by the Environment and Conservation Fund, the HKGSA aims to encourage schools to formulate a school environmental policy and implement an environmental management plan; and to enhance environmental awareness, develop an environmentally friendly attitude and promote green practices among school managers, teachers, non-teaching staff, students and their families. Beginning with the eighth HKGSA, the award scheme was restructured to forge a partnership between the HKGSA and HKAEE.
More information on the HKGSA can be found at the ECC website: www.ecc.org.hk/.
Ends/Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:55
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