Horticulture and Amenities

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, a 5.6-hectare ‘green lung’ overlooking Central District, is a conservation centre for 11 species of endangered mammals, birds and reptiles. The zoo is home to some 270 birds, 70 mammals and 30 reptiles.

More than 900 species of trees, shrubs, creepers and foliage thrive in the gardens. A herb garden was established in 1986 and a greenhouse in 1993. They hold about 500 species of herbs, orchids, ferns, bromeliads, and carnivorous and indoor plants.

An education and exhibition centre, completed in 2008, displays botanical and zoological specimens, and offers teaching facilities and guided visits.

Hong Kong Park, Kowloon Park, Tuen Mun Park and Yuen Long Park also feature zoological specimens.

Highlights of the year included a Meet the Zookeepers event, held in April 2014, which was very well received by members of the public. Over 480 visitors joined the activity. In September 2014, six scarlet ibis arrived from Jurong Bird Park in Singapore; they will be valuable additions for education and conservation purposes.

Zoological and Horticultural Education

We have introduced a number of zoological and horticultural education programmes to raise public interest in conservation and green issues. Around 19 300 people participated in 393 zoological programmes in 2014-15, and around 23 000 took part in 422 horticultural programmes. Some 735 education programmes were organised for around 23 800 students.

During the year, the zoological and horticultural education exhibitions at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and at Kowloon Park attracted around 5 500 and 9 000 visitors respectively. Roving exhibitions were held at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Hong Kong Park, Kowloon Park, Tai Po Waterfront Park, Tuen Mun Park, Yuen Long Park, North District Park and Lai Chi Kok Park, while 12 courses were conducted to educate the public about conservation issues. The encouraging feedback received attest to the success of these programmes.

Tree Management

The department is responsible for the management and maintenance of around 500 000 trees, including 344 registered Old and Valuable Trees (OVTs). There are currently 490 OVTs in the Register, which are maintained by 18 Government departments or organisations.

Since May 2010, the department has had a new and improved tree management manpower structure in place, with six regional tree teams set up to carry out tree management work more systematically and effectively. In 2014-15 the department continued to conduct regular inspections of the trees under its care, and carried out tree maintenance/trimming work on some 66 500 trees.

Around 1 800 trees were planted under the department’s tree-planting programmes in 2014-15, mostly during the period from March to October. Some 72 per cent of the trees were planted in the New Territories, with the remainder planted in urban areas, including 1 300 along roadsides and 500 in parks and gardens. Among them, some 1 250 are characterised by bright seasonal colours, including Bauhinia variegata, Crateva unilocularis, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Spathodea campanulata and Tabebuia chrysantha, etc.

Horticultural and Landscape Services

As the department is responsible for improving the urban environment and the landscape in general, we keep our policies and guidelines up to date by conducting research into the latest horticultural and arboricultural practices. We also periodically review our practices in order to maintain high standards in terms of our management and maintenance of community amenities.

As part of our efforts to make Hong Kong greener, we closely monitor planting programmes in all districts, with the emphasis on preserving existing trees and nurturing new ones, including those planted on development sites. During the year, we successfully preserved more than 1 700 trees.

The department assists in vetting the landscape designs of various open spaces and roadside amenities under development, including the designs for the planters along the Central Kowloon Route, the planting for the Kai Tak Development and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge project, and the Greening Master Plan for the New Territories. We also initiate landscape improvements for existing venues and roadside amenities, and in 2014-15 enhanced the landscape design of about 20 hectares of these venues and amenities.

Sports Turf Management

The department established a specialised Sports Turf Management Section in 2014 to provide professional advice and technical support for the turf management and maintenance of the natural turf pitches managed by the department, and in particular the pitch at Hong Kong Stadium and other pitches designated for use by the Hong Kong Premier League.