Jon Rees is Sustainability Coordinator and a Teacher of English and Theory of Knowledge at ICHK

Monday, April 22nd saw ICHK kick off a week of celebrations to allow for a multidimensional exploration both to celebrate the beauty of our planet, as well as understand the scope and scale of the challenges ahead. 

To adapt, and hopefully to thrive, in a precarious future we must look to first be “Sustainable Humans”: by learning how to cultivate the energy, empathy and balance within ourselves, we can project more positively out into the wider world and effect greater change through the quality of our relationships and ability to work in collaboration others, regardless of whether their views accord with our own. 

You could make a strong argument that every day is Earth Day at ICHK. Certainly “the art and craft of being human” is a motto that is lived daily within the school and the regular explorations of the city through Deep Learning, the Outdoor Learning department, the pastoral programme, and extracurricular activities. 

For example, just the week before, Year 9 students were preparing for a Rite of Passage ceremony to mark their entry into the upper school, and showed their sense of responsibility for the planet by continuing a longitudinal science study of the health of our local mangroves. And our Drama department, led by Liam Greenall swept the boards at a school theatre awards. The performing arts, and the sports activities the school runs are just the most powerful means of cultivating “sustainable humans” equipped with the socio-emotional skills to thrive in the future. Building a shared commitment to these habits, dispositions and behaviours will be more formally recognised through the implementation of the new “ICHK Pin” initiative, launched by Head of School, Toby Newton this week.

On the Friday before Earth Week officially began, Marcus Lee led the Environmental Action Group to organise a very successful Toy & Stationery drive for Crossroads Foundation. Marcus was inspired to do so after hearing Crossroads’ founder, David Begbie, speak at an SDG event. Outdoor leader, Dave Addis, has opened up a permanent line of communication to Crossroads, ensuring that they have first refusal on furniture from renovations. 

Additionally, the week before, Carly Leung from the environmental start-up, VAIR, came in to speak with our Year 12s about sustainable careers and how to make effective choices to pursue positive academic and social futures. Carly Leung was one of the HK delegates at COP 28 in Dubai, so they were lucky to receive such useful advice from a dynamic young leader within the city.

Our SMT worked fantastically to turn a range of nature messages, including ancient Chinese wisdom about living in balance with our environment, (thank you Ms. Luk!), into posters for display around campus. The SMT also helped judge the winners of our hand drawn and digital Earth Week poster competition. 

The SRC helped us to launch a Kadoorie Farm: Sponsor a Tree project too. We are collaborating with Year 8 parent and Kadoorie plant specialist, Craig Williams, to acquire a range of native HK species to promote the regeneration of biodiversity atop the Nature Trail that runs behind school, in an area cleared by Dave Addis’ Bushcraft and Year 10 ENF students.

Christian Pilard, an ICHK parent, and founder of Eco-Systems Action Foundation came in and spoke to all of our Year 9s, Year 12s, as well as the +1 Centre students about the incredible range of projects which his organisation has made a positive contribution to across the last twenty years. His compassionate and proactive message seemed to work as a catalyst for some animated Year 12 SoCO planning later in the week which was wonderful to see. 

English classes had a special lesson devoted to inquiring into the issues that beset our species, captured through Carl Sagan’s compelling, A Pale Blue Dot, monologue. We looked at how the UN Sustainable Development Goals offered some solutions, but also pointed to very limited progress in many of the categories. HT classes listened to meditations, explored Earth Day songs, and took walks down to our local temple to immerse themselves in nature.

Across the week, a range of different links were posted for students to dip into courtesy of BBC Earth, and Ted Talks with prominent conservationists such as Jane Goodall and Al Gore. A range of documentaries played at lunch throughout the week, including Plastic Ocean, My Octopus Teacher (selected by the EAG’s Guy Traittel), Cowspiracy, Before the Flood and The Walk that Made Me. Additionally, an Earth Day 2024 playlist was compiled and linked here if you want to enjoy a range of songs connected to the themes mentioned.

Our Economics department ran a series of lessons on the circular economy. And this was fantastic groundwork for the visit of Tiffany Leung, from Redress, an organisation devoted to reducing our patterns of over-consumption. This event was ably put together by a group of Year 12 students, so congratulations to Ani, Caiden, Ariv, and Elkan for their positive actions for our community which benefited our Year 7 and Year 8 students. It also helped deepen the Year 7s’ understanding of reducing waste as they pioneered bringing in a reusable container for the canteen. The HK Government marked Earth Day by bringing in some very welcome legislation banning single-use plastics from the thousands of cafes and restaurants across the city. Our canteen largely replaced plastic cutlery long ago, but if we can also reduce unnecessary wooden forks and paper plates ending up in landfill too, all-the-better. 

Wednesday, saw a small but highly motivated group of Year 10 students accompany science teacher, Mr. Alex Yim, and Jon Rees down to PNEC Organic Farm. Look out for a further post about the excellent community work PNEC are engaged in, but great thanks to Kootyin and Pinewood for their usual generosity and kindness, and for gifting us with a copy of the newly published oral storytelling history of Nam Chung and Sha Tau Kok.

The work will surely carry on in classes, Deep Learning inquiries, extra-curricular activities, and the library, so thanks, then, to Ms. Palmer who has curated a series of books regarding Sustainability so that students can carry on their engagement with these topics.