Lam Chiu Ying has always prided himself of being naturally ambitious. He’s willing to try everything once: “A naturalist? I’m really more a nature hoarder!” Years ago, while on a quest to find hobbies after work, he decided to take up courses on a variety of topics. One of these courses, taught by former Chairman of Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) Michael Webster, was on bird watching. This course opened a new chapter for Lam, who found his life-long interest. In 1976, he joined HKBWS, a community that seemed at that time exclusive to Westerners. Years later, he translated the Chinese edition of The Birds of Hong Kong and South China, published in 1994, which is still regarded as the “bible” for local birders today. Lam went on to become the Chairman of the HKBWS from 1997 to 2004.

In 2014, Lam began taking an interest in roadside plants. Observing a wide variety and beautiful flowers sprouting from these “wild weeds”, he bought the Handbook on Hong Kong Plants to further his interest. In effort to conserve and allow for the plants on a roadside slope near his home to grow naturally, he wrote to the Highways Department to petition for a reduction on grass cutting in his neighbourhood, which was finally accepted after many tries. "My only contribution to roadside plant conservation in Hong Kong for now, "he says. Today, Lam shares on his social media daily to introduce a plant a day to his followers, with over 700 posts on roadside plants to date. There is a difference between how amateurs and taxonomists observe animals and plants, he notes. Whereas Handbook on Hong Kong Plants uses scientific data to describe flowers and plants, such as details of the length of leaves and width of petals, Lam tries to keep his posts concise and easy to understand, sharing only the unique characteristics of each species. It is in his hopes that, in the future, these posts can be compiled into a website, available to the public for free.