15 SHI JIE MAGAZINE – AUTUMN
David Yuen Bringing Discovery College to Life David Yuen is our resident Gardener here at DC. Ever since David first started working here, we’ve seen the College’s gardens come to life. You can see how his hard work has paid off around the school, from our lush patios to our vibrant rooftops.
2017 S taff P rofile
Before becoming a gardener, David used to work in the banking industry and lived a life on par with the high octane pace we associate with urban Hong Kong. Looking for an outlet from the job pressures associated with such a career, David turned to his childhood roots. The son of two farmers in Macau, David recalls helping out his parents and the joys he found with planting and managing the growth of their vegetables. When his daughter was born 10 years ago, David found even more of a reason to leave banking behind and pursue gardening to have more time with his family. Not only does his work speak for itself, so do his qualifications. Being no stranger to hard work, David started his gardening career with full time study of Environmental and Resource Management at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education. To further his knowledge he also took part time courses at CUHK in the field of Garden Design and Tree Risk Assessment. David describes his job as one of patience, consistency, and care, just as you would when raising a child. He says that in order to do a good job, he needs to plan meticulously and use his many years of experience. According to his former teacher, even the simple act of watering plants takes three years to master. Every plant in DC is treated to David’s hard work and care, with consistent pruning, trimming, and insect management. When David is not removing weeds, or watering plants,
he works on a small nursery of shrubs, ready to take the place of withering plants around the school. David says his motivation for gardening stems from his desire to promote positive wellbeing. When David isn’t working or spending time with his family, he is furthering his knowledge by studying Horticultural
Therapy. We hope that with your next visit at DC you can take the time to appreciate David’s exceptional work.