This camp was supported by Knowledge Transfer Project Fund of Lingnan University and collaborating together with Hong Kong Playground Association. The target group was elderlies aged 50 to 70. In this 2-day-1-night camp, participants learnt different aspects of in-depth knowledge of forest and wildlife through various activities and got to know the ways to protect our forest in Hong Kong.
The activity formats used in the summer camp were highly varied. Each part was presented in a completely new format, keeping a certain level of novelty together with lots of knowledge supported. This was especially suitable for elderly learning. The camp started with interactive lectures to introduce the forest ecology of Hong Kong. After building up a basic understanding, participants learnt different knowledges of wildlife from the forest, especially insects. Afterwards, participants were taught observation and identification skills. They could even try different methods for insect surveying, such as making and using a DIY insect aspirator. They also prepared and placed some lures for insects and checked who got the most popular lure that night.
Wildlife found in day time and night time could be very different. Therefore, there were both exploring time in day time and night time. During the night safari, participants were guided by our professional eco-tutors to spot wildlife and get to know their interesting facts. At the same time, the interpretation was assisted by special tools for scientific research (e.g. light trap, microscope) in order to observe the tiny insects that were usually hard to observe closely.
“Law of the Forest”, the first and the only Hong Kong board game with the theme of Hong Kong forest ecology and biodiversity which is designed by us, was used and served educational purpose in this camp. Participants learnt more about local ecology and wildlife while they were entirely enjoying and engaging in the game. This entertaining way of learning has always been one of the most popular activities for our participants from various age range. Our professional tutors would skillfully connect the human activities encountered in the game to their influence on ecology and guide participants to reflect on the ways of forest protection.
Teaching in small groups promotes peer learning and participants could involve much easier in the activity. That is why we always insist to conduct our tours in this way to achieve a better learning outcome, which was also conducted in this camp too.
