Follow Hong Kong Investment Immigration and Hong Kong Life. Environment: The Hong Kong government has been committed to urban greening; however, for many years, most of the trees planted have been introduced foreign species, with very few native species planted, making it difficult to create suitable habitats for local wildlife. Based on these reasons, the Construction Industry Council plans to build Hong Kong's first urban "native forest" at the Zero Carbon Building project in Kowloon Bay this year, with an expected area of 3,000 square meters. The plants grown in the native forest will all be local species, with the hope of attracting more local animals and birds to settle in the bustling city, bringing vitality to the community.
Hong Kong's first Zero Carbon Building will open this June. The building covers an area of 147,000 square meters, cost 240 million Hong Kong dollars, and is located on Sheung Yuet Road in Kowloon Bay. It is a joint development by the Construction Industry Council and the Development Bureau. The green area of the Zero Carbon Building accounts for over 50% of the total area, with the 3,000-square-meter native forest accounting for 20% of the total area. The Hong Kong government plans to emulate a natural forest environment to create a three-dimensional native forest. The native forest project plans to plant 135 trees of over 20 to 30 different native Hong Kong species.
According to relevant experts, this will be the first native forest in all of Hong Kong. Due to the large number of foreign tree species brought in by immigrants in the early years, there are very few local native forests, which is unfavorable to the development of the overall ecology. Experts explain that because local wild animals and birds need native trees to provide flowers and fruits as food, and they prefer to inhabit native trees, foreign tree species cannot provide favorable habitats for local animals. It is hoped that the construction of this native forest will attract birds and local animals to "immigrate into the city," bringing vitality to the community and creating a "cool island effect" to combat the "heat island effect."
According to the plan, the plants to be grown in the native forest are generally divided into three categories: ornamental, shade-providing, and bird-attracting. Among them, the Hong Kong Gordonia and the Chinese Sterculia have high ornamental value, making the forest more aesthetically pleasing; tall Chinese Banyan, Camphor, and Chinese Hackberry trees can be used for shade; and the fruits of the Ficus virens, Ficus variegata, and Ficus semicordata can attract birds. Experts state that in terms of ecological community structure, the plants in the entire native forest will resemble a natural forest, with high, medium, and low levels of vegetation, aiming to achieve a three-dimensional effect. In terms of cost, although the construction of a native forest requires more effort, the price is comparable to that of building a regular park.
It is understood that because past tree planting in Hong Kong mostly used foreign species and neglected native species, nurseries have rarely provided native saplings to meet market demand. The biggest difficulty for the project at present is finding suitable saplings. Relevant personnel will search for similar species in nurseries in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong, and Fujian. Currently, more than 10 species have been found, and there is hope to introduce about 30 native species. Experts expect that after the project opens in June, it will still take two to three years before it is truly worth viewing.
Because native tree species have very high requirements for soil quality, the Hong Kong government needs to dig 1 meter deep into the ground where the native forest is to be planted and then recreate the soil by imitating the natural soil structure. The architect of the Zero Carbon Building project stated that the excavated waste will be used to create natural slopes, adding different levels of height to the green area.