Earlier this year in January I submitted an independent research proposal to the NSF in conjunction with a teacher I had in the fall of 2018, Professor Cheryl Swift. The research proposal proposed a study of an invasive species threatening an ecosystem in a nature preserve in Hong Kong, the Mai Po Nature Reserve. This nature reserve is administered by the World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong (WWF Hong Kong), Professor Swift had a previous relationship with them which allowed us to conduct research on their premises. Once the proposal was accepted we had to come up with a schedule and decided on being in Hong Kong from May 21-Jun 5.
While in Hong Kong we stayed in a city called Tai Po. WWF Hong Kong has a house they operate there which was formerly the governor’s home. We were allowed to stay in the house for the duration of the stay which was extremely kind of WWF Hong Kong. Our research entailed mapping and measuring the extent of the invasion of Mikania micrantha. Over two weeks we took a multitude of measurements and are now processing that data so that we may create a report. I am also going to be presenting this research at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate research this fall.
Overall the trip was a great success and I really enjoyed visiting Hong Kong and appreciating some of its nature. This trip opened my eyes in many ways, but I think the most important thing I saw was the dedication of WWF Hong Kong in protecting their country’s nature. Even though they may not have the best technology or the most manpower, they were throughly determined to do whatever it took to protect their country. This showed me that perhaps the most powerful environmental organizations are local ones. There is nobody who understands the needs of an area like its own citizens. Which also makes me feel better about the structure of 4FreshWater. I hope to revisit Hong Kong sometime as it was one of my favorite places I’ve been to.
