We entered the 2025 Howick Local Board Moth Plant Competition, which ran from Monday 3 March to Friday 9 May. The competition aimed to control the spread of the invasive moth plant, which spreads rapidly and threatens native plants. This year, 43 teams registered and took part in this event, removing a total of 246,302 pods and seedlings, stopping over 6.1 million potential seeds from spreading. Despite being a small team, we removed 71,713 pods and seedlings. In the end, we proudly won first place in the Open Category, as well as the prize for ‘most small vines removed’ section.
We spent hours, including the holidays, searching local parks, and other areas like other people’s homes (with permission) for moth plants. Truthfully, at first, we stumbled upon this event as a chance encounter. It was our first time, but knowing it was for a good cause, together we decided to lend a helping hand, joining many others to help conserve and restore our environment. However, as we progressed, we began to also appreciate the smaller details of nature. The lively chirps of the birds, the cool breeze of the morning, and the satisfaction after a round of hard work was evident. These are all mundane factors that can be easy to miss in day-to-day life but once you dig deeper, nothing feels more refreshing. Additionally, going out regularly had its own merits, assisting us in building a healthy body with the exercise and sweat we shed. Although we faced multiple challenges and had to maintain strong determination to break this record, it is no doubt that this experience left us with more than one reward.
~ Jennifer Choi 13B1, Angela Jin Choi 11B1