We could think of no better way of celebrating the 60th anniversary of KFBG than with our good friend and collaborator Dr. Satish Kumar from Schumacher College, UK, which we duly did in memorable fashion on 30th November 2016.

Gathering in the afternoon in the plaza, we invited Dr. Kumar to release a rescued Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) following which Satish delivered a short poignant speech about releasing one’s inner bird - imprisoned over time - to fly up into the blue skies of our imagination.

It was a short walk to the Walter Kerr Garden, where we joined a tree planting ceremony in which KFBG Chairman Andrew McAulay, Sir Horace Kadoorie’s grand-nephew, and Dr. Kumar planted Blake’s Oak (Cyclobalanopsis blakei) and Yanmin (Dracontomelon duperreanum) seedlings. These two trees - native to the Indo-Burma region – can reach up to 30 metres high. Blake’s Oak, is a very rare tree in Hong Kong, with the only record of this plant in the territory being in She Shan, Tai Po.
 
Walking uphill from the Walter Kerr Garden on a refreshingly breezy and sunny winter’s day, we soon reached Misha’s Bungalow, passing en-route through Cascade Garden and the lovely Rainbow Pavilion.

We were greeted at the bungalow by the beautiful music playing of the long-term volunteer, Snoopy.

Mr. McAulay made a speech recollecting the milestones of the KAAA and KFBG, expressing sincere gratitude to one and all, who, in numerous ways, have unstintingly contributed to the development of KFBG and propelled its many initiatives.

Dr. Kumar also made a speech to all staff, in which he spoke of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore’s stay in the Kadoorie household, in Shanghai, in 1924 and how Tagore started a school in India under a tree. Touching on the “secret of happiness,” Satish said that it was simply to give happiness to others.
 
“Human and humus come from the same root,” he observed. “Humus means soil. We are made of soil, earth, fire, water and air. But we’ve lost imagination and become eco-illiterate,” continuing that what KFBG is doing is the provision of “eco literacy.” To emphasise his point, Satish concluded by quoting Tagore’s poem: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
 
Holding to that noble thought, we will continue to act as a catalyst - as yeast is to bread - for the preservation and protection of our precious nature, asking, in the process, more individuals to join us in our education and conservation programmes.

Following the speeches, we sang birthday songs and children of Kadoorie family blew out the many candles that festooned a lime ginger birthday cake made by the wonderful staff in the Eat Well Canteen of the Green Hub, which also provided low-carbon snacks such as raw cocoa truffles and dried veggie chips. At the conclusion of these celebratory activities, we slowly walked downhill en- masse, each lost in his or her own thoughts as a peaceful sunset descended and a quiet resolve blossomed in our collective bosom.