Learn the Miyawaki Method Tree Planting Festival〜Create a 9,000-year-lasting forest at Meguri no Mori!〜
On Sunday, October 13, at Shonan International Village Meguri-no-Mori, “Let's learn the Miyawaki method at the Tree Planting Ceremony! 〜Let's create a forest to last 9,000 years at Meguri-no-Mori! 〜” was held at Shonan Kokusai-mura Meguri-no-Mori.
The fine weather overshadowed the stormy weather and rain during the preparatory stage just before the planting event. The unseasonably hot weather during the tree planting festival reminded us of the threat of global warming.
Fifty-five members of the G20 Global Land Initiative delegation came to Japan from 27 countries. A total of 203 people planted 500 trees of 34 specimens of Potential Natural Vegetation derived from vegetation surveys, creating a forest regardless of nationality and race.
At the opening ceremony of the planting festival, Mr. Nakatani, Director General of Kanagawa Prefectural Policy Bureau, announced that the Shonan International Village Meguri-no-Mori forest was approved on September 27th, 2024 as a “30 by 30” site promoted by the Ministry of the Environment and an “OECM” Nature Symbiosis Site that contributes to biodiversity conservation in areas outside National Protected Areas.
The following October after the Meguri-no-Mori forest was designated as a Nature Symbiosis Site, a tree-planting festival was held in connection with the G20 Global Land Initiative (G20 section on the Global Environment) at the Meguri-no-Mori forest in Shonan International Village, the birthplace of the Miyawaki method that is a unique Japanese brand of reforestation methods, which Silva shared at the site with our colleagues from around the world.
Forests we regenerate are the “original forests of the land” that have been lost. We can restore the forest’s original functions of disaster prevention, wind protection, dust protection, waterproofing, and temperature reduction, and protect the genes of many living creatures by regenerating forests that have inherited the original genes of the land with their unique regional characteristics.
The forests in their natural state help mitigate ongoing global warming and are the ultimate biodiversity fields that can survive semi-permanently, assuming the next ice age will arrive in 9000 years. An international symposium was held on October 11th to discuss how we can hand down these techniques and knowledge of forest creation in their natural state to the children of the next generation.
Silva invested 1.5 million yen coordinating this October tree-planting event. We would like to thank our sponsors for their support. We would also like to express our gratitude to all of the cooperating organizations and people involved, as well as to the members of Silva. We would like to report on the tree-planting festival in the following blog.
Please continue to support our mission for the survival of the biological community. Thank you very much.
Non-Profit Organization Silva
Representative Director Toshiko Kawashita
Twenty tree-planting leaders gathered at 8:15 am.
They prepared the logistics of the event for one hour before the opening ceremony and served as tree planting guides for the public.
They also managed and supervised the accuracy of the tree planting work.
Distinguished Guests
Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy Director, Secretary General, G20 Global Environment Section
Director, G20 Global Initiative on LandUnited Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
UNEP Osaka office at the United Nations
FAO, Rome
UNESCO, Paris
UNESCO Nairobi office Total 60 persons (27 foreign countries)
Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, Chinmoku no Mori project, party of 15 in total
Dr. Kazue Fujiwara, Professor Emeritus, Yokohama National University
Mr Hideki Hasegawa, Coordination GL, Regional Policy Division, Kanagawa Prefecture
Mr Ichiro Inagaki, Director of Education, Hayama Town Hall
Mr. Yoshihiro Natori, Chairman, Meguri no Mori Zukuri Promotion Council
The opening ceremony finally started at 10:15!
Dr. Muralee, Secretary General of the G20 Global Environment Section, thanked us for this valuable opportunity and encounter.
Dr. Natori, Chairman of Meguri no Mori Zukuri Promotion Council, encouraged us to contribute to the global goal “Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework” by making this event as influential as possible.
The opening declaration was made by the participants, the leaders of the next generation!
Learn the Miyawaki Method Tree Planting Festival
〜Create a 9,000-year-lasting forest at Meguri no Mori!〜
The children chanted in unison beyond national borders and race.
After the opening ceremony,
training on tree-planting methods began with
Dr. Kazue Fujiwara, Professor Emeritus of Yokohama National University (Science)!
We learned that we need to plant trees with a sense of urgency, as even the slightest mistake is unforgivable.
The natural world has no borders! Tree planting scene of people participating in international exchange through the Miyawaki Method
Everyone in the world united as one! Wara (straw) Bucket Relay
Although this tree-planting festival was a meaningful and international event, the real stars of the show are the saplings that were planted. From now on, the fight for their lives will begin in order to protect the places where they were planted. Plants, which have genes that are around 3.6 billion years old, have an overwhelming resilience and the ability to change their ‘environment’, unlike humans, who have genes that are around 500,000 years old.
The history and vitality of plants, which transformed a planet filled with toxic gases into a beautiful blue planet, supplying the oxygen that form the basis of the ozone layer, and even creating natural barriers, are crystallized in the form of forests, where they come together to demonstrate their ability as the ‘world's greatest producer’, a capacity that exceeds human knowledge. When we entrust the regeneration of native forests to saplings, the best we can do is to mulch them with straw and organic matter (plant remains).
We would like to thank you all for your support of Fujino City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and other cities.
The merchandise are SDGs contribution goods that also support economic forests.
We received many purchases of wooden tags for writing messages and our forest eggs.
The amount of your donation at the Let's Learn the Miyawaki Method Tree Planting Festival was,
63,909 yen ($331.74.) and 5 cents!
Thank you very much!
The saplings provided at the event were grown by the Donguri Brothers, a team from the Cooperative Forest for the Welfare of People with Disabilities
Five hundred saplings were purchased for 550 yen each,
The money was returned to the People with Disabilities as wages.
Cut grass, branches, woodchips, etc. utilized and avoided waste disposal. Recycled materials amounted to 20 tons at this tree-planting festival alone.
The neighboring landscapers, management associations, and lumber mills are also very happy to reduce their disposal costs.
By promoting forestation, many people are benefiting from this system.
is system.
Many enthusiastic messages from the children were written on the board set up at the event. Thank you, Everyone! With their thoughts and wordsin mind, I pledge that we adults will also take action to bring a future rich in nature.
Toshiko Kawashita, Representative Director of Silva
On this day, 100 m2 took its first steps into the forest.
Before tree planting
after tree planting
Last year in October, 2024, the world’s first International Symposium of Miyawaki Method and several official tours were held in Yokohama. Here, we would like to feature a message from Dr. Kazue Fujiwara, professor emeritus of Yokohama National University and Silva’s lifetime honorary advisor. Dr. Kazue Fujiwara is Dr. Akira Miyawaki’s direct disciple and successor of the Miyawaki Method of planting with densely planted mixed species:
On the day of the tree planting festival, the weather was sunny and unseasonably warm, but a pleasant breeze from Meguri-no-mori Forest welcomed everyone. 203 people, including 55 people from 27 countries participating in the Miyawaki Symposium along with Japanese participants, planted 500 trees of 34 species of Potential Natural Vegetation in a 100 square metre area. During the explanation of the planting method, Mr. Sharma from India kindly introduced the representatives from each country at the podium of the planting site.
Everyone participated enthusiastically in carrying the straw. They carried it by hand to the mound, and although there was some confusion about the direction of the straw due to the subtle slope of the terrain, everyone carried it out joyfully. Additionally, some of the participants from overseas, who utilized their own interpretation of the Miyawaki Method, did not exactly follow Silva's instructions, leading to some challenges. However, I was informed that after the planting was completed, the Silva’s team inspected the planting site and made corrections in several areas which I greatly appreciate.
At the opening ceremony, Mr. Nakaya, Director of the Policy Bureau of Kanagawa Prefecture, announced that this site, Meguri-no-mori, was designated as a Nature Symbiosis Site under the Ministry of the Environment's ‘30 by 30’ Initiative on September 27th and as an ‘OECM’ (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures) site contributing to biodiversity conservation outside the National Protected Areas.
A section of Miyawaki Forest, planted by Miyawaki Foresters from all over the world and Japan’s Silva organization and their supporters, was established at Meguri-no-Mori site.
Notice.
The 27th Annual Tree Planting Festival will be held on Sunday, November 10.
Introduce the event on YouTube.
Enjoy the photographer's work at the Forest Art Gallery .
Forest Restoration Photo Diary
Photos can be downloaded.
11/10/2024
World's first! An international symposium to promote the Miyawaki Method was held at Yokohama National University!
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Afternoon 13/10/2024
G20 Global Environment Section delegation visits Miyawaki Forest at Hayama Elementary School
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20/10/2024
Full tree inspection carried out! G20 Global Environment Section-related ‘Let's learn the Miyawaki Method Tree-Planting Festival’ Announcement of results! in Shonan Village Megurino-mori
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