Passion Fanned Into Flame

This summer, I had the privilege of joining the Nature Conservancy in Hong Kong as an intern. My internship might have ended, but it definitely was not the end of my time with this wonderful TNC family. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming when I first started navigating my way around the office, making it much easier to feel like I’m part of their family. During the internship, my colleagues have taught me more than I can ever imagine and I cannot be more grateful.

To share a little bit about what my internship includes, here’s a copy of the blog post that I wrote for them. Hope you enjoy it!

Passion Fanned Into Flame

We teenagers have this fire of passion that cannot be extinguished. Though small, it can transform into a fiery flame. For me, my passion was fanned into flame because I participated in the Nature Works Hong Kong pilot program.

Three years ago, I became interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. However, what sparked my interest in environmental science was not the reason why I’m doing it right now. I’m pursuing a degree in this field, because I was given a chance to discover my identity through the Nature Works Hong Kong pilot program.

The Nature Conservancy has partnered up with Seeds Training, an organization that designs and delivers training programs that build essential life, leadership and learning skills, to create the Nature Works Hong Kong Environmental Innovation and Leadership program. This program aims to equip and train junior high students (age 14-17) and help them channel their passion for the environment into real-world community projects. Moreover, through this program, the students can truly acknowledge the fact that “they are the generation that has the greatest opportunity to create environmental change” as Charles Bedford, Managing Director Asia Pacific Region, would say.In my experience with Nature Works, I was given the rare opportunity to pitch my ideas to my high school to make the students’ dining system more sustainable. Through the project, I realized that environmental leadership skills are essential in order to transform my passion for the environment and conservation into tangible actions.

However, being an environmental leader isn’t just about issuing commands or orders. It is about managing your own project, as well as maintaining the cohesion of your team. Not only do you have to communicate with your team members to push them to meet their goals, but you also have to learn how to motivate and influence others by being a good role model yourself.

This program didn’t only equip me with a set of skills to become a better environmental leader, it also gave me a sense of direction in life.

Pass the Flame

This year, I am privileged to be working with the Conservancy as a summer intern, helping the team with the preparation and execution of the official launch of the Nature Works Hong Kong program. From being a participant myself, to working for the Conservancy, I have seen how this program inspires and cultivates students to be future conservation and environmental leaders of tomorrow.

This year, an impressive number of 135 secondary school students from local and international schools participated in the Nature Works Hong Kong program. Together, the students initiated 13 team projects that aimed to resolve prominent environmental issues in Hong Kong.

For 12 weeks, the students worked together with their advisors to set attainable goals, generate a budget plan and create a simple timeline to help them envision the direction of their project.

Prior to Pitch Day, the students also had two mock-pitch days at Goldman Sachs to practice their pitches. At the mock-pitch days, the students received valuable feedback and professional insights from volunteer advisors and staff members from large corporations (like Goldman Sachs, Veolia and Airport Authority of Hong Kong) on how to improve their projects.

After refining their projects with the expert feedback, the students were ready to pitch. I was very impressed by the final work the students showcased and presented to corporate sponsors and the community on Pitch Day. The great outcome of their project is definitely a testament of their hard work.

Pitch Day is just the beginning of many more good things to come! Just a few days ago, the Conservancy created a platform on its website for them to gain votes, recruit support, and raise funds from the public; hence, throughout the past week, they’ve been trying to draw people to support their projects. (Click here to support their projects and help spread the word!)

Sparks Fly

We all desire to have a purpose in life: whether it is to educate, to make new discoveries, or to improve the livelihoods of others. This purpose is why our fires burn. When we reflect on who we are and how we identify with each other and the community around us, we are exploring what fuels our fire.

For me, my fire is burning in the hope of introducing a paradigm shift in our society: that social development and conservation of the environment will not be in conflict but can find harmony via our work with various corporations and communities.

I would not have been so certain of my future aspirations if not for the Nature Works Hong Kong program. For this, I’m grateful that the Conservancy created this great opportunity for me to discover my identity and find the place where my fire can blaze.

See original blog post here

A Work of Art

There’s this one piece of abstract art that always catches my attention.

It looks so simple as a whole. So minimal yet so mesmerizing. The careful thought and consideration the artist put into the composition scares me. Perhaps it’s the perfection that scares me… or maybe it’s the intertwining of the layers which repels me. The layers upon layers of paint prevents me to see the innermost layer, a layer most important to any art piece. I knew that to actually understand the piece, I have to look beyond the obvious layers, so I tried to look.

I never knew how I became attracted to this art piece. I remember walking past it. It didn’t exactly stand out amongst the other paintings; rather, it was stored in the dim corner of the gallery. However, the more I walked away from it, the more it caught my attention. It was as if the dim aura around the art piece created a unique environment for me to appreciate and admire the mysteriously minimal painting in the corner.

I wanted to understand it. I wanted to know it like a friend. I wanted to know it like something dear to me. Yet, I found myself exploring the composition at the wrong places. I missed hints that allowed me to find what I was looking for, and after a while, I just got distracted by another painting.

This other painting was different. Although it was in a shy corner of the gallery, soft bright lights bounced off the frames like the light of dawn reflecting off a white bed sheet. It was refreshing to be able to understand this painting and it spoke to me like no other painting had before. It’s white backgrounds were covered by fine black ink. The drawings were a little hastily drawn, and some parts weren’t completely developed but it spoke out to me nonetheless. Contrary to the abstract piece, I felt that I can understand this piece of artwork. However, the more I dug into this painting, the more uncomfortable I felt about it. Maybe it was its imperfections or maybe I was getting too comfortable knowing all the details behind the artist. It just didn’t feel right. Soon, the gallery had to send the piece to another museum, so I too said goodbye to the piece.

That one piece of abstract painting still hung quietly in its corner, so I decided to approach it again.

I read the books and reviews about the painting but it didn’t help me understand the piece much. Then one day, I stumbled across the author’s biography in the bookshelves of the public library. Flipping through the pages allowed me to understand many layers that were unclear before. These layers connoted many things I did not realize. The meaning behind the painting was nothing like I thought it would be. I was frustrated and angry, but mostly confused.

Why would the artist have such intentions whilst creating the painting? The whole time when I thought I can resonate with the meaning behind the art piece, was I wrong? Just a few pages into the biography and I already felt like I can no longer appreciate this piece like I use to.

For a while, I despised abstract art. However, that faded away after a year or two.

That piece of art is still in the gallery, only now it’s revealing some of its colors under a brighter light. I still look at it from time to time without realizing that I’m doing it. Maybe that’s the beauty of the piece. It attracts you when you least expected it.

A Challenge for Adventure

This summer, I have retreated back into my comfort zone – Hong Kong. Although I’ve been here for almost 17 years of my life, I feel that I am constantly pleasantly surprised by little discoveries around Hong Kong. Thus, this summer, I want to explore this comfort zone of mine.

So instead of having an extensive, elaborate list of every small thing I want to do this summer, I decided that I would pick out some things that I truly want to experience. Who knew that condensing all your wishes into a short list could be this hard?

1. Outdoor camping: star-gazing, s’mores making, bonfire-making inclusive.
2. Roadtrip in Hong Kong: spend one day exploring Hong Kong using all of Hong Kong’s transporations.
3. Make something from scratch: can be cooking/baking, preferably something I could cook again in college
4. Try Something New: Play a sport, an instrument, step out of my comfort zone!
5. Learn how to use Photoshop: (like actually knowing how the application functions and not just trying to lasso my way through everything.
6. Retreat. Reflect. Revamp.: This is more about my spiritual and mental well-being. I want to do a little bit of re-evaluation of my life in general because who doesn’t need to look in the mirror from time to time?

Joining the Blog Party

I’ve heard about people writing blogs since the internet started becoming a thing. Yet here I am, writing my first post and I still have no idea what I’m doing.

But… this is on my summer bucket list and I’m determined to go through with it!