I am Cherine Luk, a final year Sociology student studying at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. As I entered university four years ago, I was inspired by my peers and urged by the climate change situation to proactively take part in promoting 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially environmental sustainability.
In my four years of study, except being a Sociology student, I was the president of the 8th CUHK Agricultural Development Group (CU AGRO) and worked as the ambassador of the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change. The former position works for promoting local agriculture and the latter educates the public about various environmental knowledge and the urgency of climate change. Thus, you might see me promoting local veggies and green diets in the Tuesday Farmer’s Market or guiding some tours for guests on the campus.
Apart from promoting sustainable agriculture (under the SDG 2 Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 Climate Action through weekly markets and tours, I also worked on various environmental projects, for instance, the vegetable bouquets for the graduation ceremony. Those vegetable bouquets are unique, fresh and environmentally friendly. I hope by providing alternatives to graduates, they can remember their graduation day along with their support towards local farmers and sustainable diet.
Besides my works on the CU campus, I am currently working as an intern at the Green @ Yue Man Square, the territory-wide community recycling network. It is always our choice to decide whether our “wastes” are sent to landfills or turned into recyclables. The recycling network aligns with SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, which is crucial in our sustainable future development. Therefore, I choose to not only recycle my own “waste” but also assist the general public to do clean recycling.
In my first year of undergraduate study, every professor from the department told me about the importance of building up sociological imagination. It helps us grasp the relationship between collective history and individual biography. Now, ambitious climate actions are urged and creating a sustainable society are prioritized. As sociology students, we should and could contribute to sustainable future development with our attention to the interactive dimensions of individuals, societies and the environment. I can’t wait to see more sociologists and students bring different perspectives from the sociological field to environmental issues.
