Country: Hong Kong School/ organization: SKH Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School Delegation leader/ teacher: Ms CHAU Yuk Lin Students: LO Wing Kai, HUI Chun Sing, CHAN Siu Kin, LAU Chun Wang, LIU Cheuk Heng Partner organization: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Brief description of the project: (200-250 words) In Hong Kong, the air quality seems to be improved. Over the past decade, the emissions of major air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide and particulate matter dropped steadily. The ground-level ozone concentration remained almost unchanged [1]. However, at times there can be episodes of serious air pollution which may threaten our health. There are several factors that may affect the air quality. Also, ozone is not a ‘primary’ pollutant. It is formed from the chemical reactions of nitrogen oxide – released from thermal power plants and vehicles - and volatile organic compounds under strong sunlight. This makes the issue of air pollution more complicated. Air pollution is monitored at 16 general and roadside stations throughout Hong Kong, but they do not cover many densely-populated areas, including our school district. In order to help the public to know how clean the air they breathe in, we, as secondary school students, have participated in a project known as ‘Community EXPLORE: Science to Action’ organized by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). In the project, we have installed the necessary equipment and measured the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, ozone and black carbon in the school environment using the EXPLORE platform developed by HKUST. Based on the data collected in our school environment, a study of the effects of weather conditions on the air quality will be conducted, so that the people can identify the places with clean air according to the predicted weather condition and plan their trips. [1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2126079/hong-kong-takes-ozone-pollution-new-air-quality

Country: Hong Kong School/ organization: SKH Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School Delegation leader/ teacher: Ms CHAU Yuk Lin Students: LUO Tsun Ming Karlton, CHOI Lok Hin, LI Chun Man, YIM King Sum, LEE Long Kwan Partner organization: Environmental Association in Hong Kong Since a mass of litter was washed ashore on the beach or on the ground in the urban area by the super-typhoon in September 2018, many local people have become aware of the issue of marine litter and helped to clean up the shoreline actively. However, the removal of marine litter does not really help to conserve the coastal and marine environment. Our coastlines are still awash with marine litter. To minimize this problem, there should be a reduction of waste generation at source. In this project, a research has been conducted to know the extent to which the citizens understand the issue and their perception of the need to reduce marine litter. The data was collected from 107 respondents through an online questionnaire or a face-to-face interview between 9th March and 31st March 2019. The results showed that they just had an average understanding about marine litter. Also, around 80% of the respondents reflected that most people did not care about marine litter because of three reasons. First, some perceived that the problem did not cause lasting damage. Also, it was not an imminent environmental threat. Third, it was only a problem to the coastal communities. Since they do not feel an urgent need to reduce marine litter at source, we set up an educational booth to spread the message of the importance of protecting the environment and teach the public how to upcycle the plastic waste in the Marine Conservation Carnival organized by the Environmental Association on 31st March 2019.