Wildlife conservation charity’s children’s art contest with insect theme encourages an emotional connection to nature and biodiversity

Hong Kong is rich in biodiversity, home to thousands of insect species, including 240 species of butterfly and 130 species of dragonfly. And while many of our city’s bugs literally fly under the radar, Dr Ying Ying Liu wants to encourage people to appreciate the vital role they play in our ecosystems.

“Insects are fundamental,” says Liu, who was born in Liaoning province, northeast China. “We depend on them for pollination, they help spread seeds and are a vital food source. That’s why ‘Small and Beautiful’ – insects and bugs – is the theme of this year’s Voices for the Planet Challenge.”

Liu is founder of LumiVoce, a Hong Kong charity that inspires children to love and protect wildlife and nature through music, arts and education.

For the past three years the educational wildlife conservation charity has organised the Voices for the Planet Challenge, a competition that encourages children to create art – whether it’s an illustration, painting, video, photo or piece of music – while making an emotional connection with wildlife.

This year’s programme, which has a focus on insects, starts on February 14 and runs until May 22 – and Liu wants as many schools as possible to sign up. Blending the arts and education to support biodiversity makes sense, she says.

“Neuroscience shows that the arts are powerful vehicles to engage with both the rational and emotional parts of the brain,” says Liu, who is a classical soprano and pianist and, as the daughter of classical composer Liu Chi, has music in her blood. She describes the Voices for the Planet Challenge as a fun and creative way to engage young people. “We don’t want to be preachy,” she adds.