ESF Environmental Conference - 10 June

Over 200 members of the ESF Community, came together to celebrate their work on making the world a better place.  This year’s ESF Environmental Conference, the sixth, called for us to reflect on the plight of our forests and to understand how product lines work so we can choose more sustainable practices. The theme, ‘Branching out for a Sustainable Economy’ supports the United Nations Year of Forests and the World Environment Day theme,  'Forests – Nature at our Service’. Both themes highlight the intrinsic link between quality of life and health of forests and forest ecosystems. Most importantly, taking action on forests requires an on-going commitment to changing the process through which we source our products.

Dr. Willie Smits (Masarang Foundation – www.masarang.nl/en/) as our key note speaker at this year’s event, highlighted the need to be clear about taking action to save the planet but to help people  to see the benefit from sustainable practices. Dr. Smits has dedicated his life to saving the forest habitat of orangutans and now as a social entrepreneur is involved in vital and far-reaching solutions. One of his forest projects has taken a barren deforested area with poverty and crime and begun to regenerate biodiversity that had been lost.  The planting of Sugar Palms allows local people to generate income, and in replanting forest species alongside food crops. ESF schools have pledged to support the Masarang Foundation so please support our schools to help improve the biodiversity of our region.

Also in pursuit of our aim to make ESF a greener place, we held a market place where students sold their wares from their micro- and roof gardens and small enterprises sold organic and green products, including  bamboo fibre clothes, T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles, water retaining planters as well as bokashi recycling systems.  All will sustain our futures more effectively.  Thanks to Jenny Quinton of Ark Eden for coordinating such an event and also thanks to all students, teachers, parents  and support staff who continue to make a difference in school, in Hong Kong and across the world.