Irfan Karim, president of the Altit Hunza Town Management Society, said the program is helping people in the region understand "what is the value of snow, what is the value of ice."
"Because of the snow, winter sports, people are getting the idea of how to protect the ice, glaciers and snow," he said.
The hockey program has generated enthusiasm in areas like Gilgit-Baltistan, a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, with communities offering up land for rinks to be built.
"We see this is a really good way to have responsible tourism start in the winter around winter sport (and) that they need to do it in a way that's environmentally friendly," said Jenilee Ward, the high commission's counselor and head of political and public affairs, "because tourists want to come to places that are clean and taken care of.
"The communities themselves are telling others about the need to pick up trash, start waste management systems and have the whole community involved. It's a great and growing community initiative."