Community Plant Library (Sheung Wan & Sham Shui Po Series) | Hong Kong

Community Plant Library (Sheung Wan & Sham Shui Po Series)

  • Category: Placemaking, Design Thinking & Engagement, Social Innovation

    Type: Outdoor | Workshop | Social Media

    Location: Sheung Wan & Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

    Completion: 2024

Community Plant Library is a community initiative that engages society through sustainable development, social design, and culture and arts.

The second edition of Community Plant Library took place in 2023 and in partnership with Partnerships Community Development (PCD).  The location shifted to Sheung Wan and Sham Shui Po, a traditional residential neighbourhood with both new and traditional arts and cultural attractions such as bookshops, cafes, and art galleries.

Apart from retaining popular programmes in the inaugural round (2021) such as the roving plant clinic, the second round also invited groups of participants, comprising  residents and others of all ages to join as plant librarians, mapping out the plants in the neighbourhood and designing wood furniture for potted plants through workshop and guided tour sessions. They were also involved in creating a
large-scale Community Plant Map of Sheung Wan with well- known map illustrator, Maoshan Connie. We also invited local artists to lead plant-inspired art workshops, such as botanical storybook sharing and creation workshops led by artist Connie, Garlic Lamp Making workshop conducted by artist Tsang Tak-ping, and illustrator Ivy Wong’s botanical sketching workshop. 

The one-year project phase is divided into three objectives:

  1. Nurture the Community: Focuses on developing community connections and promoting nature appreciation in Sheung Wan and Sham Shui Po through a series of workshops and plant-related public programmes.

  2. Network Building: Engages in cross-district community programmes like roving plant clinics and plant adoption days to connect like-minded people, encourage mutual learning, and create a sense of kindness in the community.

  3. Sustainable Community Development: Establish a creative placemaking framework to encourage residents to participate spontaneously and work together to unleash their creativity and meet the need of the society.

Sheung Wan Community Map (Front)

Sheung Wan Community Map (Front)

Sheung Wan Community Map (Back)

Sheung Wan Community Map (Back)

From Social to Eco-Living

  • The process to onboard partner shops to join the Community Plant Library programme offered pertinent lessons in placemaking and community engagement. Through overcoming obstacles, onebite learnt valuable lessons that improved our skills as community designers.

    The first obstacle our designers encountered was the entrenched mentality amongst shop owners and residents that only experts generate placemaking ideas and the community are merely silent beneficiaries. Quite the opposite, through this project, onebite hopes to encourage residents to generate more ideas, initiate more actions, and take the lead more actively through co-creation. We believe stakeholders have the insight and power to create spaces that are balanced and sustainable. Participants may even become collaborators in the process, such as our Plant Librarians.

    The second obstacle was how to encourage partner shops to join this programme. Initially, many were skeptical and fearful when the team of designers approached potential shop owners to offer “free” potted plants. Often it took several visits and conversations to build up trust and broach the details of the Community Plant Library. Placing the plants in the shops is only the first step. Designers also had to find ways to encourage and remind the shop owners to water the plants. A creative solution is to incorporate a name tag with the plant, getting the owners involved in naming their plants in the hope they would be cared for their owners’ own children. For example, one shop owner named her two potted plants after her grandchildren. This not only reminded her whenever the grandchildren are not around in the shop. Whenever they are, they would also volunteer to water and take care of their own namesake plants!

    Design for Good Values

    • Positive Impact

    • Build Shared Value

    ESG/ Sustainability Factors

    • Community
      - Civic Engagement & Giving

    • Customers
      - Health & Wellness
      - Impact Improvement

    • Best Community Initiative, Monocle Design Award 2024

    • Good Design Award 2023

  • Sponsor: Partnerships for Community Development

    Collaborators:     Chillax Place, ho-ah Cafe, Indigo Coffee, Jockey Club - The Conservancy Association Urban Forestry Green Hub, Maoshan Connie, Rapha, Soul Fresh, Te Fiti Nursery, 緣緣堂, 見山書店, 東街咖啡, 芳芳姐, 皂工房, 一拳書館, 雅居地產（Ling姐）

    Guest Speaker: Ivy H.Y. Wong, Karl, Tsang Tak Ping, 劉海龍（阿龍）

    Photographer: Cheung Pak Hong, Ho Ka Ho, Tai Ngai Lung, Tse Tak Man

    One Biters: Alan Cheung, Ashlyn Kwong, Catherine Chao, Chloe Ting, Karen Yeung, Sarah Mui, Taylor Chow, Tiffany Chin, Vivian Tsoi

  • #communityplantlibrary #rovingplantclinic #neighbourhood #resilientcity