WWF launched “Ocean’s 10” buses to raise awareness on marine issues
WWF launched three Ocean’s 10 buses today on World Ocean’s Day to further raise public awareness on local marine conservation issues. The buses, displaying the winning designs of Ocean’s 10 Bus Design Competition, will be running around Hong Kong for at least 6 months to get public attention on 10 local marine species which are being threatened by the degradation of our marine environment and resources.
The Competition, sponsored by Solomon Systech, was launched this January to invite participation of public and students to express their concerns on our marine environment through creative and artistic drawings. The Competition has received very good response from both the school and public with 5,200 entries collected in 3 months.
“We were very impressed by the creative and original designs. I am sure that every participant cherishes the Ocean’s 10 and they take a lot of imagination to come up with such an ingenious and colourful artwork to express their concern on marine conservation. And the most important thing is that all designs carry a very important message - our marine environment and resources are under threat and joint efforts are urgently needed to save our seas. WWF is committed to protecting these important marine resources by continuing with our SOS (Save Our Seas) campaign which aims to bring back a healthy sea with abundant fish and marine life,” said Ms Sam Lee, Director, Community Education, Participation and Action, WWF Hong Kong.
Mr Humphrey Leung, Managing Director, Solomon Systech (International) Limited, said, Solomon Systech shares the same vision with WWF in protecting the marine environment. We have cooperated with WWF in different marine protection projects to promote and educate both our staff and the public to care for our environment. This Bus Design competition has not only given our children the canvas to show their artistic creativity, but has also raised the awareness of the community on marine life. I am really impressed by the winning designs and am sure, with the winning designs painted on buses, the campaign will successfully draw public attention in environmental protection.”
Winning titles of Primary and Secondary section went to 11-year-old Lau Ching Fung, Kwai Ming Wu Memorial School of The Precious Blood (PM), and 17-year-old Ho Ka U of TWGHs S.C.Gaw Memorial College respectively whereas Chan Ying Lee triumphed the Open section.
The judging panel included head judge Mr Freeman Lau, Partner, Kan & Lau Design Consultants; Ms Yvonne Chan, Corporate Communications Manager, Solomon Systech (International) Limited; Ms Alissa Wong, Senior Curriculum Officer, Education and Manpower Bureau and Mr Eric Bohm, CEO, WWF Hong Kong.
Mr Freeman Lau, Head Judge of the Competition, gave his comments on the winning designs, “The Primary Section presents the designer’s vision of creating a green and healthy earth which links up the protection of Ocean’s 10 species with the overall environment of Hong Kong whereas the Secondary Section shows that we could help save the marine species by joining our efforts together. The Open Section brings out the urgency of protecting our marine species who are now pledging for help to their survival.”
WWF kicked off the Ocean’s 10 programme last year to raise public awareness on our marine environment by highlighting 10 marine species found in Hong Kong waters. These include Brain coral, Chinese bahaba, Chinese white dolphin, Green turtle, Horseshoe crab, Hong Kong grouper, Mudskipper, Seagrass, Purple sea urchin and Yellow croaker.
Through a standalone website at www.wwf.org.hk/oceans10 and a variety of educational programmes, WWF hopes that the threats to the ten local marine species and many other marine species, along with positive steps that can be taken to protect and enhance their survival, can be drawn to the attention of the people of Hong Kong. The “Save the Ocean’s 10” Web Game has been recently launched to add new elements to our website.
Special thanks to Citybus Limited for providing free bus body advertising space to the Ocean’s 10 buses for a period of 6 months.
WWF was established in 1961. WWF's ultimate goal is to stop and eventually reverse environmental degradation and to build a future where people live in harmony with nature, by:
- conserving the world's biological diversity
- ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
- promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
WWF has been working in Hong Kong since 1981 to ensure a better environment for the present and future generations through implementation of a wide range of focused conservation and environmental education programs in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Our conservation objectives are to conserve Hong Kong and China's biodiversity, improve the quality of our environment while motivating people to act to conserve our natural environment. Education is one of our key tools in pursuing our objectives. Every year our education and awareness programs reach over 120,000 students, teachers and members of the public in Hong Kong.
