A Green Campus with Dual Emphasis on Education and Practice
Mr. Edward Lam is a member of the Tsim Sha Tsui Baptist Church. He and his wife have two sons and two daughters. Mr. Lam has worked in the field of environmental protection and conservation for years. His professional expertise and interest of research are in integrating environmental protection and ecological conservation into development and town planning through environmental assessment and audit. Mr. Lam is committed to promoting community environmental awareness and action. In 2018, upon the invitation of President Joshua Cho, he joined the Campus Environmental Consultation and Development Committee and worked with the seminary to face challenges.
Team Work in Meeting the Challenges
Mr. Lam considers that the seminary is located in a uniquely pristine environment which is readily accessible by public transport. It is an oasis amidst concrete jungle, and a place that allows brothers and sisters to come into contact with the nature and draw near to God. Such an ambience is conducive to promoting green education for nurturing preachers and pastors with green ideas and theology for further dissemination to a wider sector of the community.
In recent years, the seminary has faced a number of environmental challenges. The noise, vibration and dust nuisances caused by the concurrent widening of Sai Sha Road and revamping of the public transport interchange adjacent to the campus, have seriously affected the health and study of its teachers and students. The government has also planned to build a major sewage pumping station in close vicinity to the seminary, which will have significant impacts on the beautiful coastal environment that has been enjoyed by the seminary and members of the public.
Mr. Lam had an unforgetting experience last year. Because of the widening works of Sai Sha Road, many teachers and students of the seminary felt sick with respiratory diseases. President Cho then called for an emergency meeting. All committee members came together and were arranged to meet with the project manager of the road works immediately. Concrete mitigation measures were agreed upon and implemented immediately. The project manager also proactively responded to the seminary’s suggestions. They rescheduled the work program and deployed the most advanced piling machines. These had greatly reduced the noise and vibration. The situation was further improved by installing additional and higher acoustic insulation cloths on noisy facades, and through effective implementation and audit of fugitive dust control measures.
Dual Emphasis on Education and Practice
In Mr. Lam’s opinion, HKBTS has been the pioneer in environmental protection among the numerous seminaries. HKBTS not only works hard in raising environmental awareness of its teachers and students, but also takes positive actions to protect the environment. On promoting environmental awareness, HKBTS runs extra-mural courses on environmental and ecological theology to instill pastors and brothers and sisters with a green mind. The President has also spoken on ecological theology at various occasions, and integrated environmental protection with the good news. In addition, environmental and green theology have been featured in the Newsletters of the seminary in recent years. In terms of action, HKBTS is the first seminary campus that has installed solar power generation system in Hong Kong. So far, 316 photovoltaic solar panels have been installed and have effectively reduced carbon emissions. HKBTS has led by example for other seminaries and institutions to follow in environmental protection. Other actions that the seminary has taken include the placement of recycling bins, energy conservation and emission reduction measures, as well as greening of the campus. This whole range of measures shows that HKBTS does not stop at talking about awareness, but also takes concrete actions to protect the environment.
Green Campus: More possibilities
Mr. Lam believes that the seminary’s efforts in promoting environmental protection are important to sustainable development. He suggests that the seminary may consider conducting an environmental audit in future, for example, by collecting data of energy consumption on campus and implementing energy saving measures for items that consume most energy. Moreover, environmental charters could be drafted and signed between teachers and students. For example, it could be agreed that the last one leaving the lecture room will turn off all power according to classroom schedules; “green concerts” could also be organized with music and hymns composed and written for the appreciation of the beauty of nature and environment conducive to drawing people nearer to the nature, and to engendering their concerns for the environment. Apart from these, the seminary may also consider incorporating environmental protection into the elective programs. In addition, some parts of the campus could be designated as gardening plots or organic farms for teachers and students. This will allow their participation, and at the same time strengthen the bonds between them and the campus. It will also enhance the interpersonal relationship between teachers and students.
Being a member of the Campus Environmental Consultation and Development Committee, Mr. Lam is impressed by the wide range of professional expertise of the committee members, and their enthusiasm and dedication. All committee members work with one accord without private or ulterior motives. The interests of the seminary are their priority, and they work with one accord in providing advice on the seminary’s environmental initiatives. He notes that there are members with rich administrative and policy-making experiences and their roles perfectly complement one another. Mr. Lam confesses that he has learned a lot from other members through teamwork. The ideas and plans formulated by the committee are often pragmatic, down to earth and practicable. All of the above are factors that contribute to the fruitful outcome of HKBTS’s efforts in practical environmental protection and education. Mr. Lam hopes that the seminary will keep up with the wonderful work in promoting and implementing environmental initiatives, and that the imminent challenges will soon be overcome.