The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) held the Greening School Project Award prize presentation ceremony at the Kowloon Park Sports Centre today (July 22) to present awards to 37 schools for their meritorious green school projects and contributions to environmental greening. Meanwhile, a horticultural education exhibition, "Let's learn about edible plants", is being held by the LCSD today and tomorrow (July 22 and 23) at the Arcade and the Green Education and Resource Centre of Kowloon Park. Admission is free.
 
     The LCSD is committed to promoting greening. To cultivate students' interest in horticulture, enhance their related knowledge and beautify the school environment, the department's Greening School Subsidy Scheme provides subsidies to schools every year to organise more greening activities and encourage students to plant more trees and shrubs on campuses. Targets of the subsidy scheme are kindergartens, primary, secondary and special schools in the territory. Under the scheme, the Greening School Project Award will also be presented to acknowledge schools' achievements in campus greening.
 
     Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony, the Chief Leisure Manager (Green Campaign) of the LCSD, Ms Tina Tai, said that the Greening School Subsidy Scheme is one of the educational and community involvement activities under the Green Hong Kong Campaign. The scheme has been well received, with the number of participating schools increasing from over 300 in the first year to about 900 this year. The standard of green projects has also been climbing. It was also encouraging to see that both teachers and students had worked very hard to make their schools' environments greener and more beautiful, and that a variety of environmentally friendly elements had been incorporated into the projects which help strengthen students' awareness of environmental protection.
 
     Ms Tai added that both the greening school project and the horticultural education exhibition were major activities of the Green Hong Kong Campaign. The exhibition is being held today and tomorrow from 10am to 5pm. Members of the public can learn more about edible plants through descriptive display panels. Other activities for people of all ages include thematic talks (conducted in Cantonese), potted plant activities, guided tours, game stalls and workshops.
 
     The Greening School Project Award was presented in eight categories. The champions are as follows:
 
1) Large Garden Plot Project (Secondary School Section):
South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School
 
2) Large Garden Plot Project (Primary School Section):
ELCHK Lutheran Academy (Primary Section)
 
3) Small Garden Plot Project (Secondary School Section):
Yan Chai Hospital Wong Wha San Secondary School
 
4) Small Garden Plot Project (Primary School Section):
SKH St Andrew's Primary School
 
5) Garden Plot Project (Kindergarten Section):
St Mark's Church Bradbury Kindergarten
 
6) Tree Planting Project:
Shek Lei Catholic Primary School
 
7) Horticultural Maintenance:
Ta Ku Ling Ling Ying Public School
 
8) Best Green Concept:
Little Buds Kindergarten
 
     The list of other winners of the Greening School Project Award is available on the LCSD webpage www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/green/education/greeningschool/2022schoolawardlist.html.
 
     Other officiating guests attending the ceremony included the non-official member of the Community Involvement Committee on Greening of the Development Bureau, Dr Angie Ng; Past President of the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects Mr Tak Wong; and the Chief School Development Officer (North District) of the Education Bureau, Ms Katherine Wu.

                            

     â€‹As the Heat Stress at Work Warning is now in effect, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and employees to take appropriate measures during the effective period of the warning to prevent heat stroke when working in hot weather or hot environments.
      
     Employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor environments face high levels of heat stress and are at a relatively higher risk of heat stroke. Employers should assess the risk factors of heat stress for employees at work and, based on the identified risk factors, take necessary preventive and control measures, including rescheduling work periods, setting up shading covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment, and reminding employees to replenish water and rest in a timely manner.
      
     The Heat Stress at Work Warning is formulated by the LD based on the Hong Kong Heat Index. There are three levels of the warning: Amber, Red and Black, which help employers and employees better understand the level of heat stress while working outdoors or indoors without air-conditioning systems.
      
     A spokesman for the LD said that when the department issues the Heat Stress at Work Warning, employers must refer to the criteria and recommendations provided in the "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work" to conduct risk assessments, according to the workloads and other relevant heat stress risk factors, for employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor workplaces. Appropriate rest breaks should be arranged every hour, as far as reasonably practicable, based on various levels of the Heat Stress at Work Warning, to reduce employees' risk of heat stroke.
      
     Employees must also follow instructions to rest on time. Whenever there are any symptoms of heat-related illnesses, such as headache, dizziness, thirst, and nausea, they should rest in a cool and shady place, drink water, and inform employers/supervisors to take appropriate action immediately.
      
     The LD issued the "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work", detailing the various risk factors that should be considered when conducting heat stress risk assessments and recommending corresponding control measures for identified risk factors for employers' and employees' reference. For the Heat Stress at Work Warning and related guidelines, please refer to the department's thematic webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/prevention_of_heat_stroke_at_work.htm.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (July 22):
 
Reporter: (On cases of falling concrete) What more can be done by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau on current mechanism? The second question is about the upcoming Policy Address. Any new development on the youth development part and any review from you guys about the Care Teams and the previous initiatives in the past year?
 
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs: The Secretary for Development is very concerned about the various cases. The Development Bureau has already convened the meeting, inviting the Buildings Department, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), and also the Home Affairs Department to discuss about the mechanism to help those owners maintain their own properties. As for the Home Affairs Department, we have all along been helping those owners convene owners’ meetings and give them advice on how to seek professional services on maintaining their own buildings. So we will make well use of this mechanism to work with the Buildings Department and the URA. For the Home Affairs Department, we will continue to reach out to the owners in need and to provide them with suitable advice and to help them seek suitable and relevant professional services.
 
     As for the upcoming Policy Address, we are working full steam ahead on the various new initiatives on various aspects, including youth services and district governance. We have also looked into how we can better reach out to our young people and community.
 
     For Care Teams, this is a very important task for the Home Affairs Department. We expect that the 16 district Care Teams will be formed in the coming two months. We hope that through the services of the Care Teams, we can better reach out to the community and provide services to our people in various districts. For the Care Teams set up in Tsuen Wan District and Southern District, those Care Team members have already provided various services to people living in the two districts. Just like during the typhoon period, the Care Team members stood by at the shelters to help those people in need. They have also helped the elderly apply for suitable services and they will pay regular visits to the elderly in the districts. We hope that through the services of the Care Teams, we can better reach out to the community, and understand the needs of those in need and provide them with suitable services. And through this process, we also work with other government departments, just like the Social Welfare Department. They have indicated their wish to work with the Care Teams so that we can pay regular visits to the elderly in the community. And we will be more than willing to help our fellow departments liaise and reach out to our community.
      
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The post of the Head of the National Games Coordination Office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) is open for applications today (July 22). 
      
     The advertisement for the post, which sets out details of requirements for potential candidates, has been published in newspapers today. Candidates should be Hong Kong permanent residents at the time of appointment and have:
 
(a) a Bachelor’s degree from a university in Hong Kong or equivalent;

(b) at least 15 years of administrative and managerial experience, including at least 10 years of administrative and managerial experience in senior positions in large public or private organisations in Hong Kong. Professional experience relevant to sports administration is an advantage;

(c) comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of sports policies and modus operandi of the sports sector in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Similar knowledge of the Mainland and the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is an advantage. Knowledge of and experience in organising major games and international and/or regional sports events is essential; experience of taking part in past National Games, National Games for Persons with Disabilities or National Special Olympics is an advantage; 

(d) an international perspective, high capability to interact with interlocutors in the sports field as well as Government officials of the Mainland, HKSAR and/or MSAR, with seasoned experience in dealing with (i) the authorities and/or (ii) large sports organisations in the Mainland, HKSAR or MSAR regularly; 

(e) proven leadership and organisational ability with excellent strategic planning skills, strong political acumen, adept communication and negotiation skills; and 

(f) strong command of written and spoken Chinese (Putonghua and Cantonese) and English. 
 
     All applications should be submitted to the Personnel Registry, Culture Sports and Tourism Bureau at 44/F, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong on or before August 4, 2023 (Friday). For information about this vacancy, please visit the Civil Service Bureau’s website (www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/7.html).

     Police are anxious to locate the next-of-kin of a boy who was found abandoned in Yau Ma Tei yesterday (July 21).
      
     About 12.40pm yesterday, Police received a report that a boy was found wandering at the Accident and Emergency Department of Kwong Wah Hospital.
      
     The boy, named Chen Healton, is twelve years old. He is 1.45 metres tall, 35 kilograms in weight and of thin build. He has a sharp face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He wore a pair of black glasses, a dark blue short-sleeved T-shirt, khaki shorts and black sandals.
      
     The boy sustains no apparent injuries.
      
     Investigation by the officers of Yau Tsim District is underway.
      
     Police urge his relatives or anyone who has information to offer, to contact any police stations or the officers of Yau Tsim District on 36619515 or email to ymtdiv-rr@police.gov.hk.