ERNEST KAO ERNEST.KAO@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 September, 2015, 4:38pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 September, 2015, 6:53pm
The old Dairy Farm Company ranch dates back to 1894. Photo: Nora Tam
An “ecological heritage park” should be set up in Pok Fu Lam’s Chi Fu valley to protect valuable remnants of an old dairy farm and the treasure trove of flora and fauna that lives there, residents and academics say.
A group of residents from the nearby Chi Fu Fa Yuen private estate believe the area is worth preserving as a park rather than development for housing.
The old Dairy Farm Company ranch dates back to 1894. The area has remained buried under dense vegetation since operations came to a halt in 1983.
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Residents counted 34 old valuable trees, including 20 stone wall banyans, at the site. Photo: Nora TamThe Chi Fu residents counted 34 old valuable trees, including 20 stone wall banyans. They also claim the abandoned dairy farm fields are now home to 60 species of bird, and amphibians such as the short-legged toad – listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources red list.
The ruins of the old farm include intact stone walls, silos, dairies, water tanks, manure pits, paddocks, piggeries and water troughs, that can still be seen through the thick overgrowth and are remarkably well-preserved, said Steve Sau Chi-ching, who convenes the Chi Fu Fa Yuen Residents’ Association Greenbelt Rezoning Concern Group.
Professor Edward Yiu Chung-him, associate director of the Chinese University’s Institute of Future Cities, said the discovery by residents was quite timely as the government was in the process of readying a biodiversity strategy and action plan (BSAP) this year.
Professor Edward Yiu Chung-yim, Geography Resource Management of CUHK, shows where grass was stored to feed cows, at the old ranch. Photo: Nora Tam“This would be Hong Kong’s first ever eco-heritage park,” said Yiu, citing examples worth studying such as Jackson Park in Chicago and Fuyang Park in Taiwan. Chung said the first hurdle would be to lobby the government to rezone the area, which is now under “residential use”.
He suggested the park management could be tendered to a non-profit organisation, much like the country park enclave of Lai Chi Wo in the Northeastern New Territories.
Katty Law Ngar-ning, a member of concern group Heritage Watch, said she was very impressed by the residents’ findings. “It’s a very important cultural heritage site featuring valuable built and natural environment, she said.
“We’ve lost so many stone walls trees on Bonham Road recently but it’s amazing we still have so many in Chi Fu.”
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1858358/old-hong-kong-ranch-home-60-bird-species-and
