HKU Rooftop Farm
HKU Holistic Urban Farming
Rooftop Farm
Established in 2013, the Rooftop Farm provides organic farming workshops and farming space for students and staff to spread the joy of growing our own food. The farm was first established on the rooftop of the Runme Shaw Building in HKU's Main Campus (2013-2021) and relocated to the roof garden of the Meng Wah Complex in 2022.
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HKU Rooftop Farm began as part of an academic research on edible roofs and a General Education project of organic farming. It was set up with the support from the senior management, the expertise of professors including Mr Mathew Pryor from the Division of Landscape Architecture, some sponsors and the vegetarian restaurant Bijas.
Years
Activities
Objectives
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2013-2023
Location
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Meng Wah Complex rooftop, HKU (since May 2022)
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Runme Shaw Building rooftop, HKU (2013 - 2021)
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Organic farming
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Farming workshops
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Monthly Community Day
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Monthly Harvest Lunch
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Other community events
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~20 regular volunteers
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~20 new participants joining workshops that are held every semester
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Raise the awareness of sustainable lifestyles such as conserving natural resources, reducing food waste and maintaining a healthy diet through introducing the concept and practice of organic farming.
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Foster a sense of responsibility and connection to the natural environment by reconnecting people and food production.
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Create a humanistic and harmonious campus climate conducive to student learning and social inclusion.
People involved
Choosing what to grow
At the beginning, none of us are experts in farming, we learn from instructors whom we invited to teach in each semester. We start by growing less challenging crops like lettuce and sweet potatoes and move on to a more diverse variety of crops. Through observation and trial and error we began to know what crops do better at which time of the year and even at which specific area of the farm. We discovered that certain pest appear at a specific period of the year. We also learned that growing certain plants next to the other can help to repel pest or attract beneficial insects. Through these observations and learnings, we decide what and where to grow at what time of the year.
Plants have been grown here
Adams fig
Amaranth
Arrowroot
Basil (Italian/ Sweet)
Basil (Thai)
Beetroot
Bell Pepper
Bitter Melon
Black Radish
Bok Choi
Cabbage
Carrot
Carrot Leaves
Celyon Spinach
Cherry radish
Cherry tomato
Chili
Chinese Chives
Common Purslane
Corn
Crystal Roselle
Cucumber
Dragon Fruit
Eggplant
Emperor vegetable
Fennel
French Beans
Green Beans
Hami melon
Indian Mustard
Japanese Radish
Japanese Scallion
Mustard leaves
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lemongrass
Lettuce (Italian)
Lettuce (Romaine)
Marigold
Mini Eggplant
Mint
Okra
Papaya
Passion Fruit
Peanuts
Pumpkin
Purple sweet potatoe
Red Amaranth
Rocket
Roselle
Rosemary
Rue
Spinach
Sweet corn
Sweet Potato Leaves
Thyme
Tomato
Tung Choi / water spinach
Vietnamese Coriander
Watercress (Japanese)
White Eggplant
White Radish (Early sowing)
White Radish (Late sowing)
White sweet potato
Yellow Cauliflower
The
community
The HKU Rooftop Farm is a big family of current students, alumni, staff and friends. The family has been slowly expanding since 2013 when the project began. Apart from actual farming duties, students contributed greatly to the programme through involving in the online promotion and hosting events, while staff who lives nearby campus are willing to take care of the plants on weekends and holidays. Everyone contribute in their own unique ways based on their respective talents and interests.
Challenges
Growing on rooftop is always more challenging than growing on the ground in terms of accessibility and maintenance issues. The Rooftop Farm has to be removed due to maintenance problems of the building and we are hoping that a new site can be found to set up a community farm again on HKU campus.
Special moments
Seeing how students and colleagues are transformed by getting involved in the project is one of the magical moments at the farm. Rather than spending all the time in the icy classrooms or offices, going under the sun, sweating and getting all dirty with soil, plants and water can turn a person cheerful and energetic. It is also amazing to see how teammates develop friendships with one another and gain a sense of belonging to the community.