Fab City High School Challenge Shenzhen

The challenge focused on the weak connection between urban residents and the biodiversity around them. Shenzhen has rich biodiversity, especially birds. Because the city is located along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway and has coastal wetlands and mangrove habitats, many migratory birds stop or spend the winter here. During our field visit, we learned about birds such as black-faced spoonbills, egrets, and black-winged stilts. These birds are also members of our urban community, but many residents do not notice their regular presence in daily life. We found a clear gap between bird lovers and general city residents. Bird lovers are already part of established communities. They actively observe birds, share information, and sometimes take part in conservation work. For most residents, however, bird knowledge may only appear during a one-time science education activity and can be difficult to remember. The main problem is not a lack of information, but a lack of personal connection. Our team of student designers and technologists therefore aimed to explore a new way to close this gap. The project was developed through field visits and discussions at Futian Mangrove Ecological Park and its museum, together with work in environmental education spaces, residential communities, co-working spaces, and laboratories in Shenzhen.