- Ark Eden

Ark Eden
“a refuge for a place of great happiness”
Environmental Workshops
led by professional teachers and environmental experts
The educational aim of Ark Eden is to bring
the curriculum alive for students
by providing inspiring, interactive
learning about the natural world.
Student Workshops
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A Hot Topic (climate change)
Peak Oil
Kick-Start Sustainability (improving our
environment)
Still Holding Our Breath
What a Waste! (depleting resources)
Forests of Lantau Project (ecological
restoration, mountains, plants, treeplanting)
Walking with trees (plants)
Plant Power (plants)
In a Small World (mini-beasts)
Charming Farming (organic farming)
On the Buffalo Trail (habitats)
Save The Fish! (rivers)
When the Waters Run Dry..(water
conservation)
Big Heart for Lantau (settlement, history)
A Place in time (human impact)
Then and Now and After That.. (history)
Lantau Loop (1-5 day environmental
camps)
CAS programmes
“A HOT TOPIC”
The Earth is heating up.
Eleven of the warmest years in the
past 125 years have occurred
since 1990, with 2005 the
warmest on record. There is
overwhelming consensus that
this is due to emissions of
greenhouse gases, such as
carbon dioxide (CO2), from
burning fossil fuels.
Our Climate Change Programme
examines the causes and
effects of global warming and
what immediate action we can
take to combat it.
This workshop can be adapted to
suit any age-group and is, quite
simply, a must.
Wake Up! Peak Oil is Here!!!!
Global oil will peak in 2010.
That does not mean that oil will run out then but it does mean that the global barrel
will be half empty and that only the oil that is less accessible will be left. The generation
of children born today are the seventh and the last generation that will live with oil.
What implications does this have for our world whose economy is fueled by oil?
Are there any real alternatives for oil? How should we prepare? Why are we not hearing
more about this crucial subject?
This powerful one day workshop is a fascinating journey into the possible scenarios of
our future. We track the ancient history of oil to its demise, study a country who has
experienced Peak Oil and we use problem solving strategies to seek practical actions and
solutions. We wake up to the call!
KICKSTART SUSTAINABILITY
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Our Kick-start Sustainability
Workshop is a one day programme
for students to learn how to live
sustainably.
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Ark Eden’s eco-house provides a
perfect setting for interactive and
discovery learning. In small
groups, students will learn how to
turn their homes into eco-homes
and to extend their knowledge into
their school, local communities and
beyond.
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Activities vary with the age group of
participants but could include an
eco-treasure hunt, picking and
cooking lunch, tree-planting, making
bat boxes, making natural toiletries
and composting.
Still Holding Our Breath…….
Air pollution.
Often the air is really not nice where we live...many of us have just got used to living in
a grey world. Many of us have just got fed up.
But we have a choice.
After we understand more about this problem we can take a stand. Where is the pollution
coming from? How much of it is OUR problem? What can we ask to be done and what can we
do ourselves?
This program can offer each classes an individual fieldtrip concentrating on a different focus –
for instance one class might look at urban transport; another at power companies, the aviation
industry or shipping. As a follow up, students present their expertise to the other groups.
After they have done that it is imperative that they take action.
Forests of Lantau Project
Our Forests of Lantau Project
is a one-day ecological restoration
workshop that can be adapted for
all age groups (Primary 2 and up).
It examines Hong Kong’s high
deforestation rate and investigates the
incredible wealth of plant life
we have in Hong Kong.
Fieldwork activities include tree planting,
native and exotic tree identification,
eco-walks and fire-break maintenance.
Study time includes problem solving
group work and power-point
presentations.
PLANT POWER!
Plant Power is an eye-opening one
day workshop that can be
adapted to students of all ages
who are learning about plants.
Plants are power. Without plants we
could not live and yet as city
dwellers perhaps we cannot
even name 10 Hong Kong trees
or 10 Hong Kong flowers or
recognise 10 different types of
growing vegetables.
Hong Kong is rich in plant life with
over 2,500 species of plants.
After this workshop we hope you
will begin to recognise more of
the plants around you and
appreciate their value and beauty
even more!
IN A SMALL WORLD…..
In a small World, we enter the
wonderful world of mini-beasts.
This is a one day workshop to
help younger students become
familiar with and comfortable in
the natural environment and learn
about the habitats of insects.
Our valley house provides a perfect
setting for insects of all kinds ; the
Praying Mantis, the Rhinoceros
Beetle, the Fire-fly or the Swallow
Tail butterfly. They are all
extraordinary creatures that live
amazing lives.
We will meet the stars themselves
and learn all about their lives
through investigative fieldwork,
group work and power-point
presentations.
CHARMING FARMING!
This practical one-day fieldtrip aims
to turn every student into an
organic farmer.
You will learn:
• what organic farming is and about
different types of organic
fertilisers and pesticides
• how to plant and transplant
different seasonal vegetables and
get to pick, wash, cook and eat
them.
• how to make compost and identify
different types of vegetables, fruit
trees and food crops
This will be a day you will always
remember – especially the wiggly
worms!
SAVE THE FISH!!
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Save the Fish is an environmental one
day workshop specifically designed for
students studying rivers.
Over 50% of the world’s rivers are in
crisis. Lack of fresh drinking water is
going to be the world’s number one
environmental problem within the next 5
years. We will find out why and what we
can do.
Hong Kong’s rivers and streams are also
in crisis. 80% of Hong Kong’s lowland
watercourses, with some of the richest
ecologies in Asia, are under threat. Many
species have already become extinct.
Why has this happened? How can we
save the fish and ourselves?
This workshop will take you on a journey
of a river in Mui Wo, Lantau Island. We
will travel from the beach to its source
and to its sad and secret places. What
you will learn from a little river in Lantau
will be extended to rivers in China, to the
rest of the world and to a vision of rivers
for the future. Activities will include fieldwork, power-point presentations, critical
thinking workshops and action plans for
the future.
When the waters run dry…..
The waters are already running dry.
Forty years ago there was great
concern that as population
growth was predicted to reach 6
billion there would not be enough
for everyone to eat.
A ‘Green Revolution’ occurred and
new farming methods produced
enough food to feed the 6 billion
people now on the planet.
There was a down side. These new
“super-crops” used a lot more
water. Right now two thirds of our
water goes to produce food and a
lot of that water is wasted.
This is a very important topic. While
humanity could survive at a pinch
without energy it cannot survive
without water.
A ‘Blue Revolution’ is called for. While
improvements in agriculture
production are vital, that is only
part of the problem. ..what about
the melting glaciers, what about
many countries’ reliance already
on underground water……?
Serious. Practical. Essential.
This will be a deeply reflective
programme for your students
On the Buffalo Trail……
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On the BuffaloTrail, we wade
back through history and enter the
wonderful world of the buffalos of
Pui O. This is a memorable one
day workshop to help students
become familiar with and
comfortable in the natural
environment and learn about
different habitats, micro-habitats
and eco-systems in Hong Kong.
Lantau provides a perfect setting
for the study of many different
organisms and of insects of all
kinds. Apart from the buffaloes,
we might meet dung beetles,
ghost crabs, mud-skippers, egrets,
perhaps even buffalo leeches and
learn all about their lives through
investigative fieldwork and group
work.
This workshop is led by a
residential expert.
WHAT A WASTE…………………
Although every year the Earth’s
natural resources are decreasing, the
average person in Hong Kong is
throwing away even more. Newcomers to Hong Kong are often quite
shocked by our wasteful culture.
What are the consequences of our
actions? How can we turn things
around?
Practical activities include a data
collecting beach-clean, a team quiz,
setting up personal environmental
systems, recycling kitchen organic
waste, a conservation treasure trail
and monitoring energy using electrisave meters.
This will be a busy day that will
emphasise how our everyday choices
make a difference and that what we do
really matters.
Big Heart For Lantau
Our Big Heart for Lantau
programmes are specifically
designed one day workshops for
students to explore the fascinating
island of Lantau.
We can take you back to the ancient
days when the land and its islands
were formed by the five volcanoes of
Hong Kong. We can tell you stories
of its original inhabitants, of pirates
and emperors, wild animals and
ancient forests, bringing you up to
date with the present day and
exploring visions for a Lantau of the
future. We can visit beautiful
beaches, tour an old fishing
village, eat at a monastery, talk
with local elders, and learn about the
fragile environment of Lantau.
Whatever you choose to do you will
leave with a big heart for Lantau,
wanting only to return.
A Place in Time
Po Lin – past, present and future
Everything changes so quickly.
Sometimes we are so caught up in
the rush that we hardly notice the
last day from the next.
At Po Lin we move through time and
note the changes. A search for
solitude becomes Hong Kong’s
most popular tourist destination.
From a ‘stone hut’ to a ‘Buddha
Palace’. From a mountain retreat
to a cable car. What has
happened along the way and what
is yet to come?
You will see what the tourists never
see and hear what they never
hear.
You will be surprised at what you will
learn at Po Lin.
A Place in Time
Po Lin – past , present and future
Then and Now And After That:
An interactive history project that uses investigative skills to
uncover Tai O’s natural and cultural heritage. Then looks towards her
future…
Lantau Loop is a 1-5 day environmental protection camp that can be looped in
different ways to suit your preference. Select a single day programme or more
to make several day trips or do overnight trips of up to 5 days. On-going workshops
are designed to teach an understanding of Lantau and its islands.You will discover its past, present
and future, the island’s geography, ecology and heritage and the political and
environmental issues threatening it. Lantau Loop is a diverse and challenging
program that involves farmers, village elders and leaders, botanists,
horticulturalists and environmentalists. From mountain peaks to sunset beaches,
from stilt villages and monasteries to cable cars and theme parks.
This is a transformative experience for students, educators and the community.
CAS
Programmes
So you need to choose a CAS
Programme…..
All the Ark Eden environmental
programmes can
be extended into ten week half-day
courses.
Half of those days will be
spent in the field and led by
experts.
Specialise in one area or
mix and match.
Alternatively, you can suggest an
area of study and we can design
it together!
If you have another area of
interest that you would like
us to design a workshop for then please just
ask…history and heritage, eco-tourism,
organic farming, endangered creatures,
geology……
Just ask.
For more information go to www.arkedenonlantau.com
Email jenny@arkedenonlantau.com or call Jenny
Quinton 92774025