Treasure trees of life with respect

In the hustle and bustle of urban life, greenery offers a comforting sense of peace and tranquillity. Some HA hospitals are built on hillsides, some have lush green frontages or gardens at the heart of hospitals that provide staff and patients with cooling shade and a breath of fresh air. The stories behind these trees reflect the importance of keeping nature alive in our daily environment to soothe us and remind us of our core values of love and care.

Every leaf and branch matters

Senior Hospital Foreman Chan Tak-por and his colleagues take meticulous care of around 360 trees at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and they do their work with keen passion, knowing how much the trees mean to colleagues as well as patients and their families in the city life.

“Tree management is very extensive and profound,” says Tak-por, who regularly attends tree management courses to keep his skills up to date and works with experts from specialist company to ensure the health of various types of trees. Banyan tree, for example, grows quickly and needs regular pruning to maintain health and structure, he explains. This includes thinning the tree’s crown – removing thin, diseased, or dying branches to allow sufficient sunlight to filter through. Fungus problems arise if the pruning technique is inappropriate. “We remove branches using a three-point cut method,” says Tak-por. “The first cut undercuts the limb to prevent tearing. The second cut is a top cut to remove the limb. The final cut is performed just outside the branch collar to remove the remaining stub.”

In particular, generations of employees have enjoyed the shade of a tree at QEH – a large banyan tree in the parking lot. The tree specialist company commissioned by the hospital estimated that the tree is older than the hospital, and is now large enough to be circled by four to five people with their arms outstretched. In the heat of summer, the tree stands like an oasis in the centre of the city, offering welcome shelter and relief for porters and staff taking a break from the scorching sunshine.

Delicate care of the root ball

Two Buddhist Pine trees planted at Kwong Wah Hospital (KWH) and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wong Tai Sin Hospital (WTSH) in commemoration of colleagues’ contribution in the battle against SARS of 2003 has strong symbolic significance. That is why a meticulously careful operation was arranged when the tree had to be relocated from KWH to WTSH during reconstruction work of KWH in 2017.

Alan Yau, Assistant Manager (Supporting Services), spent more than a year coordinating the transplantation of the tree. The relocation involved site selection, soil assessment, logistics, and post-planting care. The certified arborist explains that the most delicate part of the operation was dealing with the tree’s root ball. To allow root regeneration, workers dug a trench around the tree in stages at up to 10 times the trunk’s diameter before cutting the underside of the tree and lifting it out and replanting it. Then they placed the root ball into a large cylinder which enables the tree to be lifted out easier and moved back to KWH.

Buddhist Pine trees were planted at both KWH and WTSH in April and June 2003 respectively to commemorate the fight against SARS with perseverance and professionalism of staff. Alan recollects that KWH admitted the first SARS patients, and wards at WTSH were modified within 10 days to admit convalescing SARS patients.