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Southside’s eco-warriors Charmaine Ng meets the women leading Hong Kong’s climate change revolution
Mimi Law
Education Manager, Plastic Free Seas
Working alongside Tracey Read and Dana Winograd at Plastic Free Seas, Mimi Law has headed the Local Schools - Local Action programme for over two years. Born and raised in Hong Kong and Canada, she became involved with the charity after meeting Tracey, Founder of Plastic Free
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Seas, during a beach cleanup. Not long after, she started volunteering for the organisation on its boat programme, eventually joining as the driver of the local school education programme. Since then, Plastic Free Seas has expanded into the local school system and provides education in both English and Cantonese. plasticfreeseas.org
What has been the greatest lesson that the charity has taught you? Change can and will happen, but not overnight. We have to be patient and persevere. What we are doing is planting seeds of change and just like in nature, different plants germinate and grow at different times.
What kind of services does Plastic Free Seas offer and what are the aims of the charity? Our mission is to change the way people view and use plastic through education and action campaigns. We offer free customised talks and workshops to schools across Hong Kong and lead school beach cleanups for a small fee. We also have a corporate programme in which we offer Lunch & Learn e ducational talks and beach cleanups to companies.
What is one major goal for Plastic Free Seas this year? The long-awaited launch of our new website, which will include resources for teachers, facts for students and information about our corporate programme. This includes handy wallet-sized downloadable phrase cards to encourage people to use less plastic with simple messages such as “No straw please”.
What are some of the most challenging aspects of your mission? One of my main tasks as Education Manager is to reach out to local schools and to secure opportunities to speak and raise awareness about this issue. Making those contacts and getting my foot in the door can be quite a challenge!
