By Twinnie Lau Yuk-lan

02009366@hkbu.edu.hk

IT was not a perfect day for hiking. The sky was covered with thick clouds and it rained intermittently.

Dozens of students, accompanied by a number of organisers in GAIA, joined the hiking for fund-raising on a Saturday morning.

The school, which was named after an Ancient Greek goddess GAIA who governs the world of nature, provides non-formal education on nature.

This non-profit organisation aims to help students to gain greater intuitive and understanding of the nature through games and activities including camping and hiking.

Students are asked to give themselves a nickname - “Breeze” , “Leaf or “Tiger” - anything that could be found in the natural world.

“With a nickname, we can put aside our identities in urban life and feel closer to the nature,” said Ancient Wind, Mr. Lau Wing-kai, one of the founders of the GAIA School.

In Ancient Greek, people agreed that the nature is the foundation of all kinds of knowledge. The GAIA School holds the same faith that the nature is the best classroom and playground for children, teens and even adults.

The greatest mission of the GAIA School is to found a primary school to fulfill the “Affective Nature Education” . The school arouses participants’ enthusiasm for nature by providing them opportunity to experience it.

When the rain was pouring heavily, impatience and unwillingness were shown on kids’ faces. Stuck in the middle of the route, they did not want to go on. They were told it took the same time going to the starting point and the finish line. They could go back, or carry on.

Facing such bad weather conditions, they finally completed the whole journey with encouragement from friends. Their clothes were wet and stinted by mud but they were all wearing delightful smiles on their faces,

Gaining the wisdom of life by having direct contact with the natural world, the students realise human beings are actually a part of the nature and they are compatible. They learn to appreciate it and recognise the importance of environment protection.

Little Star, Ms Ip Ling-sum, a secondary one student, said that she learnt to think for the animals after participation in outings in the GAIA School.

“I will release the animals and let them go back to the nature if I find them at home. I know I would like to go back to where I belong if I were in an unfamiliar place.”

“We hope that students can acquire wisdom from the nature,” said Clear Water, Ms Lau Man-ching, another founder of the GAIA School. “Some learn the spirit of dedication from the grass underfoot - don’t look for something great in return and do what we have to do.”

Ancient Wind said people were now living in a society of consumption and expansion. Everyone wants to be richer and to lead a comfortable life.

Being selfish and over- exploiting natural resources, we overlook the need to protect the nature. He said having less desire could help us to live with the nature in perfect harmony.

Unlike the mainstream schools in Hong Kong, the GAIA School is planning to found an alternative school in Hong Kong based on the principle of “autonomous learning” .

They respect students’ freedom of choice on learning. Students can choose subjects that they are interested in to be the core subjects. It is not necessary to be Chinese, Mathematics or Science.

They want to integrate the effective modes of teaching and help students to develop their interests. “Interest is the greatest motive for learning,” said Ancient Wind.

“When students are forced to study the assigned curriculum that is boring to them, they will have strong feeling of frustration and won’t get good results.”

The plan of founding a primary school has been under discussion for two years and is still going on.

“Education is not a business. We are not in a hurry to jump to a conclusion as we want to get fully prepared and to make sure our plan is mature before it starts,” Anicent Wind said. “The more we prepare for the work, the better the outcome.”

Small tree, Ms Lai Yui-ngor, a tutor of the GAIA School, said that she was delighted to see children changing their attitudes towards the natural world through the programme.

She said that it was not easy to promote nature education in Hong Kong but it was now developing. She added that more and more Hong Kong people realised that it was not worth seeking happiness in the materialistic world.

Edited by Karen Chong Kuk-heung