I got this alarming email about someone trying to destroy the Lily/Lotus Pond on the way to Tai Peng. Help to find the culprit!

"For the past 17 or so years I have been assisting other like-minded residents of YSW in the maintenance and preservation of the Lily/Lotus pond at bottom of the Tai Peng hill, just behind the new drainage works.Great lengths were taken to ensure that the works did not infringe on the pond and its flowers.The pond in order to sustain the Lilies/Lotuses has to have a certain water level. This has been achieved over the years by maintaining a small coffer dam where the pond drains into stream coming down from Tai Peng to keep the water at a sustainable level.

"Unfortunately, recently a person or persons unknown have decided to try to destroy the pond by breaching this coffer dam on an almost daily basis Just about every day for the past couple of months I have been rebuilding this coffer dam only to find the next day it has again been breached.

"I doubt there are many, if any, other natural Lily/Lotus ponds on the whole of Lamma Island and it would be a great pity to lose this attraction due to the malicious intent of some uncaring resident. I would like to appeal to our community to assist in identifying the perpetrator of this unnecessary vandalism by keeping watch when in the vicinity of the pond and advising me if any suspicious actions are appearing to be taking place.

"I would most appreciate any assistance that can lead to the identity of the culprit and have this madness stopped before it is too late."

Let us know if you spot anybody doing this! PM me or call the person above directly at 9431 2024.

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i walk past the pond four times a day, and have seen people who carelessly throw litter in the pond. The problem has worsened since the arrival of the "concrete gang". I will keep my eyes even more open.

A little flooding (it occurs only when it rains very hard for a few days) doesn't justify the scale of construction work that is going on. Couldn't they just raise the concrete path?? I reckon that if they raised of just 15 cms it would have solved the problem....but of course such a simple solution wouldn't be too profitable for the contractor!

We should be glad that we could convince the govt. not to extend the drainage channel through the entire Yung Shue Long valley as they planned originally a few years ago:
http://www.lamma.com.hk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1403 and

That drainage channel would destroy not just the Lily Pond, but all vegetation in the entire flat area of the valley. This might still happen someday and the farmers in Yung Shue Long are still secretly hoping for big compensation payouts.

Anybody got good Lily Pond photos?

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How do you qualify natural Lily Pond ?

I know of a few people with ponds with lilies, and if somebody wants to start a new lily pond......, just go down to herboland & buy a lily or 2 & plonk it into a stretch of water or pond. Are very fast growers.

Thanks, that's a fine suggestion and I'll probably do that, adding it to my rooftop fountain. I didn't know that Herboland sells this kind of plants...

But the Yung Shue Long Lily Pond is kind of a Lamma landmark and many people who don't have a lily pond at home yet, including myself, walking by take great pleasure in watching it and see how it changes through the seasons. Part of the fun of it is that it's natural, growing freely and public, not private and carefully gardened.

You spend quite a bit of time in the Yung Shue Long Valley, photographing birds, no? We hope you might spot whoever is doing this constant intentional sabotaging?

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Will keep an eye out, but nothing seen yet.

There is a wider deeper stretch of water, still viewable from the path, about 30-40yds further upstream, which could accommodate several waterlilies very easily.
To be able to view the spot would require a little clearing......, but not insurmountable.

Still no feedback from anybody who might have spotted who's trying to destroy the Lily Pond on the path to Tai Peng? My correspondent is getting quite frustrated:

I am afraid that so far there has been no response regarding the "Dam Buster" and he is continuing his now daily destruction. Yesterday I cleaned up the surrounds of the pond of the vegetation and this morning it looked quite beautiful with the flowers blooming. However most likely when I return from the office the stones will probably have been moved and the water draining draining away. At this time when there is not too much rain the flowers cannot survive without adequate water.

As you can imagine I feel very frustrated having my efforts spoiled by some thoughtless, uncaring for our environment individual.

Do you have any thoughts on any other means of stopping this vandalism?

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Lamma-Gung, I'd be happy to provide you with some beautiful pink water lilies free of charge for your rooftop fountain. Just pm me...

Many thanks, minibeast! I'll stop by your place next week! Let me know when by PM!

Our Lily Pond correspondent writes:

Still no joy!

Out of interest, I have during my toils noticed an abundance of both butterflies and dragonflies indicating the pond plays a part in their ecological chain.

Yesterday I had to repair the dam on two occasions thanks to the works of the invisible pond abuser.

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Of course, lots of frogs breed in that pond too, at least 4 of the 6 species on Lamma. Given that there are so few sizeable ponds (and I don't mean marshy areas) on Lamma and since the one across the way was just filled in, it would be nice to maintain the lily pond. I walk by at least twice a day and am always looking for anyone tearing out the dam, but I have seen no one doing this. Could it be the concrete workers by any chance? On the pictures posted around the abominable concrete works that it appears they will widen the path. They aren't planning to fill in the pond are they?

The Lily Pond Vandal still hasn't been found.

We're widening the net via a photo story on the home page, Lamma-zine, Nov 16...

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How about putting up a small, polite bilingual notice:
Please Do Not Damage the Lily Pond?

If it was actual malicious damage, I think they would have done something more serious and permanent by now. I'd guess it was someone who is using the water for some reason and careless of the consequences.

Or can anyone in an overlooking house set up a webcam?

Great news, I've just heard from Lamma's "Gentleman Eco-Warrior" that the vandals seem to have stopped their daily attacks for the time being! Congratulations to him, at least for now.

If the home page story or the much larger stones he put in did the trick, we'll never know, but I'd guess the new big stones are just too heavy for the vandal(s) to move easily now. Let's hope for the best that they won't return soon, but keep an eye out for suspicious activities anyway, please.

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Sad news from our "Gentleman Eco-Warrior":

"Perhaps you can notify the readers that my efforts are again being thwarted. The vandal seems to have initiated the "Final Solution". The plants are being systematically uprooted and disposed of somewhere and at the same time small amounts of rubbish being thrown into the pond. Another few of his forays and the plants will be gone..."

Is it soooo hard to catch the vandal(s)?!
Has ANYBODY seen something suspicious going on at the Lotus Pond?

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This is a real shame, there was a time when almost every village in southern China would have had a lotus pond. The lotus is a symbol of beauty & purity since it rises from the mud, it is also a symbol of the Buddha.

The lotus is commonly found in chinese art, often being part of a rebus such as on this Ming dynasty shard where it is shown with a heron, (egret) creating the rebus "may your path take you higher."

I hope that efforts to save this pond are succesful.

Phil.