NEWS

Let's Work Together to Create Forests: The Coppice forest restoration project is underway!

Update: June 5, 2024

On Thursday, May 30, an information session on the Coppice forest restoration project which was launched to properly maintain and manage the ICU Mitaka Campus Woodland, certified as a Natural Symbiosis Site by the Ministry of the Environment, was held and attended by about 50 students.

The ICU campus not only serves as a forest for education and research where liberal arts education is conducted, but is also a valuable forest resource that preserves the appearance of coppice forests in Musashino, where a wide variety of flora and fauna, including rare species such as the golden orchid, live and grow. In recent years, however, the forest has deteriorated due to the aging of the trees and the spread of oak wilt disease.

Against this backdrop, the Coppice forest restoration project was launched with the objectives of restoring young coppice forests by promoting clear-cutting and renewal, reviving the original ecosystem of the coppice forests, and passing on the ICU Mitaka Campus Woodland to the next generation.

Throw away your books, rally in the woods

At the information session, Takashi Nakajima, Managing Trustee for Financial Affairs of International Christian University, gave a presentation on the nature of the campus, which is familiar to ICU students but little understood by them, introducing rare plants growing there and explaining the current situation of oak wilt, which has become a major problem, based on the message of "Throw away your books, rally in the woods." He also asked two questions, "What do we gain from ICU's abundant nature?" and "What must we do now to leave this abundant nature to the next generation?" to the students. This sent the message that he wanted each and every one of the students to think about the answer to these questions and to lend a hand to the Coppice forest restoration project.

Continuing on, there was an explanation of the efforts required to restore the coppice forest and the future schedule of the Coppice forest restoration project, which is planned for a long-term span of 10 years from staff members of NPO birth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting nature around us, who have been cooperating in the promotion of the Coppice forest restoration project.

Students who attended the information session asked questions such as, "How can I get involved in this project?" and "What are the details of the most recent event that is already scheduled?" showing a positive attitude to take some immediate action to protect the nature of ICU.

In the future, this project will conduct courses to train supporters who will protect the nature of ICU, conduct monitoring surveys of plants and animals, and cut down trees to promote full-scale efforts to restore the coppice forest.

For inquiries about the Coppice forest restoration project, please contact:
Secretariat of Natural Symbiosis Site：

【Outline】"ICU Mitaka Campus Woodland" the Coppice forest restoration project　※Click to enlarge