Teachers on new eco-training programme say schools cannot spread the word
Schools have not been given enough resources to develop green activities for their students, teachers and environmentalists said during an ongoing Eco-tour and Eco-guide training programme co-organised by Friends of the Earth (FoE).
'Green education seems to be still something outside the curriculum,' said Leung Mei-ling, art teacher at Lok Sin Tong Young Ko Hsiao Lin Secondary School in Sha Tin, who was participating in the programme.
'We have not been given professional training to organise eco-tours. Besides, our heavy workload spares us little time for taking the students to the countryside,' she said. The Education Department has incorporated environmental education into 27 subjects across the curriculum.
But Ngai Sze-man, another participant and a student-teacher of geography at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, said the content often had little connection to students' daily life. 'For example, in Form Three, students learn about the distribution of industry in Australia in their geography lessons. It is understandable why students are not interested in this type of environmental education,' she said.
Ms Ngai said school field trips were often only for geography and science students and were structured by the examination-oriented curriculum. 'The students are told to observe and explore different life species in the countryside because they have to hand in a report. But rarely are they taught to experience the beauty of nature and appreciate Hong Kong's natural resources, which is what green education is mainly about,' she said.
The programme, run by nine organisations including FoE, the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong Hikers' Association, Education Department, Hong Kong Institute of Education and Cathay Pacific, aims to promote nature appreciation among local teachers and students through training eco-guides.
The 55 participants, including teachers, student-teachers, social workers and professional hikers, have in the last month attended route practice sessions and seminars on nature education. They are now required to make use of what they have learnt in the programme to organise at least two green tours for their students and local youth groups. Vivien Cheng Yu-wai, senior project officer of FoE, said teachers have become more reluctant to hold field trips for their students because of incidents such as the Pat Sin Leng hill fire four years ago in which three pupils and two teachers were killed and more than 10 others injured. 'Teachers have second thoughts as they realise that they have to shoulder great responsibilities when taking students on outings. It's a pity because Hong Kong has so many valuable natural resources,' she said.
Shek Tin-luk, deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Mountaineering Union (HKMU) and a participant in the programme, said teachers did not know how to approach hiking experts for help. 'Even if teachers manage to find some hiking instructors to go with them on eco-tours, it is still hard for the school to get the money to pay them,' he said.
The mountaineering union is planning to run a hiking training course for teachers next year along with the Leisure and Cultural Services department.
Lam Kwok-keung, senior curriculum development officer (environmental education) of the Education Department, said there were many sources of funding for schools to organise green education activities, including the Quality Education Fund. He is optimistic that schools will have more time and resources for organising green education activities after the curriculum reform. 'Teachers will be given much more freedom to design their own courses. In this way, they can more actively incorporate elements of green education in class,' he said.
