The WSD is dedicated to promote water conservation among the city’s younger generation. In addition to organising school talks, visits and waterworks facilities tours, the WSD has recently deepened its collaboration with schools by launching educational programmes that combine knowledge with practice. It has also developed teaching materials for teachers to educate students about water conservation.
Keeping abreast with recent online teaching and curriculum reform developments, the WSD has updated its teaching Kit for Liberal Studies, including “Water Resources in Hong Kong”, “Milestones of Water Supply”, “Water Resources: Challenges and Initiatives in Hong Kong”, “Quality Water” and “Water and the Society”. Each topic includes discussion questions and STEAM activities. These new materials were published alongside the launch of the "Water: Learn and Conserve" e-learning platform in September 2021 and its content is also applicable to science, geography and civic and social development education.
For primary school students, the WSD launched the “Cherish Water Campus” Integrated Education Programme - Primary School in the 2015/16 school year. Through a series of water audit activities, lesson plans, worksheets, educational videos and games, these teaching kits enable students to collaboratively implement water-saving tasks and increase their awareness and concern for water resource issues in Hong Kong and globally.
In August 2020, the WSD launched a section of the "Cherish Water Campus" teaching resources for teachers to download worksheets and activity kits. In addition, an award scheme has been launched to recognise schools and teachers for their active participation in water conservation activities, with the aim of exchanging and sustaining a culture of water conservation in schools. More than 400 primary schools have participated in the programme by December 2022.
"Cherish Water Campus - Primary School" Integrated Education Programme – Primary School
The WSD extended the "Cherish Water Campus" education programme to all of the city’s kindergartens from the 2018/19 school year. The programme targets five and six-year-old children in upper-kindergarten classes. The fun-to-do teaching materials are designed to incorporate storybooks, sing-along activities and colouring to educate children about the importance of water-saving. As of December 2022, over 420 kindergartens have joined the programme.
"Cherish Water Campus" Integrated Education Programme - Kindergarten
First launched in 2018, the WSD’s "Cherish Water Ambassador Scheme" promotes water conservation by encouraging young people to become ambassadors. Being an ambassador helps to foster one’s awareness and encourages the habit of conserving water resources and to actively promote saving water. The programme has recruited over 200 secondary school and tertiary students to become ambassadors. Activities, such as guided tours of water treatment works, exchange sessions, video production workshops and training camps, have been organised for the ambassadors, who were encouraged to use their creativity, through video-making and other in-school promotional activities, to promote the message of water conservation.
Due to the programme’s popularity, the WSD launched the "Cherish Water Ambassador Scheme 2021-22" KOL (i.e. Key Opinion Leader) Incubation Programme for secondary school students in the 2021/22 school year. The programme involves partnering with internet celebrities to organise online workshops that help participants themselves become water-saving KOLs. The Cherish Water Ambassadors were tasked with creating a one-month promotion project centred around the theme of water conservation. Finalist teams were awarded sponsorship to implement their online advertising strategies to increase exposure. The scheme attracted over 360 secondary school students as participants.
The WSD launched the "Let's Save 10L Water" campaign in 2014 as a call for the public to save at least 10 litres of water a day as one of the responses to climate change. Riding on the back of this successful initiative, the WSD launched the "Let’s Save 10L Water 2.0" campaign in 2019. A series of activities, including a "Free installation of flow controllers at private housing estates and private schools", the "Innovative water efficient showerhead design competition" and the "4-minute shower challenge" were organised. The campaign aims to promote water conservation across various sectors to encourage people to save water in their daily lives and curb the increasing demand for water in Hong Kong.
