Transforming Barren Rocks into a Garden: Greening CUHK

Four decades ago, it would have taken a major effort of the imagination to visualise the lush green campus that greets us today. In the 1970s, CUHK’s campus resembled a barren moonscape, as much of its topsoil had been removed for the construction of Plover Cove Reservoir. During the past four decades, through the painstaking efforts of CUHK’s nursery team, the campus’s tree cover has been re-established, and its ecological health has been restored. Every year, new trees, shrubs and flowering plants are planted on campus. More than 60% of the campus is now covered in vegetation, including both natural woodlands and landscaped areas such as natural slopes and roof gardens.