By Suzuki Akira | OISCA Volunteer
We are currently carrying out our last tree planting activity along the coast of Natori City in Miyagi Prefecture. This year, we covered an area of 2.18 hectares and planted it with 12,000 black pine seedlings to complete out target area of 100 hectares.
On October 6, various project stakeholders including the members of the Association for the Restoration of Coastal Forest in Natori City, government officials of Natori City led by Mayor Shiro Yamada, professional forestry workers, Ms. Etsuko Nakano, OISCA Japan President, and mobilized volunteers participated in the tree planting activity. Prior to transplanting, the black pine seedlings raised by the Association members were soaked in a polymer solution to guarantee the survival of seedlings under the extreme condition.
Natori Mayor Shiro Yamada, while struggling hard with an unfamiliar field work did his best in planting seedlings together with other participants. Boarding the 27-meter high platform, Mayor Shimada had the chance to see the aerial view of the 5-kilometer-long project. He commented: “with the help of more than 10,000 volunteers, we have come to this point. We do hope it will be a citizens’ forest in the future.”
The 10-year project was first conceived and implemented following the devastation of the coastal forest in March, 2011. So far, about 370,000 seedlings were planted and the survival rate is remarkable 99.1% since the first tree planting 7 years ago. The seedlings planted in the early stage have now grown into splendid trees over 4 meters in height. The total cost of the project including future maintenance work is estimated to amount to one billion yen to be entirely raised through donations and grants from Japanese and foreign private companies and organizations.
From March 2021, the project will move to the 2nd 10- year project mainly for maintenance work such as weeding and thinning. This tree planting event attracted a strong interest from national and local media. NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) filmed it and broadcasted as a hot news program nationally on TV and a local news radio program on the same day. Other TV and newspapers such Miyagi TV, HIGASHINIPPON Broadcasting, the YOMIURI SHIMBUN and the KAHOKUSHIMPO also carried out on site coverage and respectively reported it.
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