JR East Native Forest Regeneration Project in Fukushima

With the help of volunteers recruited from the public, the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) planted 15,000 seedlings of 22 species in Adatara County, Fukushima Prefecture in northern Japan on May 29, 2004. The occasion was part of a three-year afforestation project named "Creating Native Forest in Adatara," which aims to plant. 45,000 seedlings of these 22 species on forest land in Adatara. JR East is one of Japan's leading railway companies, and has been running an "Afforestation Along Railway Tracks" campaign since 1992 as part of its environmental conservation activities.

JR East hopes to encourage people's feeling of gratitude towards nature and to contribute to Earth's future through regenerating life-giving forests by planting native trees. Under the guidance of Akira Miyawaki, professor emeritus at Yokohama National University and the head of the Japanese Center for International Studies in Ecology, JR East and the volunteers planted 22 species of tree, including native oaks, Japanese chestnut and zelkova trees at a logged area in national forest.

Volunteers were recruited from the Tokyo metropolitan region and from areas close to stations along the Tohoku Shinkansen line. In order to encourage interaction among volunteers and local residents, JR East offered a travel package of additional programs, such as shopping for local specialties, a short nature walk and an
optional tour to a hot spring resort.




Posted: 2004/07/21 01:49:25 PM
Japanese version