Dr YAU Wing Kwong, CEO of the Environmental Association

People always ask me: “Why do you care so much about butterflies?

”Well, let me tell you a story.

Look around you. Butterflies are quietly living in our daily life.

They appear on our T‑shirts, earrings and handbags.

They fly through our poems, dramas, stories, our culture.

And when a real butterfly suddenly dances past your window, you stop, you smile… and for a moment, your pressure drops and your heart feels a little lighter. So when we protect butterflies, we are actually protecting our own happiness, and the environment that keeps us alive.



There was a quiet little valley in Tai Po.

Most people in Hong Kong had no idea about the treasure chest of butterflies –

But some people did notice… and they came not with cameras, but with nets.

Collectors and poachers from overseas snuck in, even taking butterfly eggs from the leaves.

 Imagine: while most of us were still sleeping, the future of Hong Kong’s butterflies was quietly being stolen away.

 

We couldn’t just sit and watch, we the Environmental Association, together a group of passionate volunteers, decided to act.

In 2005, we create the Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve in Tai Po – a safe home, a “butterfly haven” where these fragile lives could survive and thrive. Today, about 90% of Hong Kong’s 250 butterfly species have been recorded in this one small reserve.

It’s like the “Butterfly MTR Interchange Station” – almost everyone has to pass through!

 

One day, we had a surprise guest.

We spotted a butterfly, a tiny traveller that had flown all the way from Japan to Hong Kong. No passport, no air ticket, no luggage – just two wings and a very strong sense of direction.

That one little insect opened up a brand new research project, tracing the mysterious migration route of this “flying traveller” and reminding us that nature has no borders.

 

At the same time, we started to build a butterfly network in urban area. We began working with property managers, housing estates, hotels, schools – anyone, anyone who would listen – to build butterfly gardens across the city.

From Tuen Mun Gold Coast to urban estates, from hotels to campuses, we helped turn ordinary corners into little butterfly homes, serving fresh nectar, and providing butterfly maternity suite every day.  Slowly, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau, even places in Malaysia joined this network of butterfly gardens.

You could say we are running an international “Butterfly Airbnb” – offering safe rooms with a great garden view.

 

Behind the pretty wings, there is something deeper.

Butterflies need clean air, healthy plants and safe habitats.

If they can survive, it means our environment is doing better.

If they disappear, it’s a warning sign – like nature’s own alarm clock ringing in our ears. So when we plant a bush for butterflies, we are actually planting hope for ourselves, for our children, and for this city we love.

 

Now, where do you come in?

You don’t need a PhD in biology to help butterflies.

You can start with a flowerpot on your balcony, a small garden in your school or work place, or simply by visiting us at Tai Po Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve and supporting ongoing conservation work. Imagine Hong Kong as a true “Butterfly City” –

where along our streets, in our estates, on our school roofs, work place and hotels, butterflies are quietly dancing in the wind, and every time one flies past, it reminds us:

This city is still alive and happy.

Nature is still here and thriving.

And we have chosen to protect it. So next time someone asks, “Why do you care about butterflies?”

You can smile and say: “Because when butterflies are happy, people are happier too”