Forest Maintenance and Craftwork Experience at Takao Forest Nature School

The Hitachi High-Tech Group participates in forest maintenance work and biodiversity conservation activities overseen by Takao Forest Nature School staff in the forest maintenance area of the school (Hachioji City, Tokyo) operated by the SEVEN-ELEVEN FOUNDATION.

As part of these activities, on November 18 (Sat), a group of 36 volunteers consisting of Group members working in the Kanto region and their families, including elementary school students, engaged in forest maintenance work plus potato digging and crafts using materials gathered at the school site.

After an introduction to the facility and activity explanations by the nature school staff, participants went to an onsite field for potato digging. Unearthing sweet potatoes by hand from the soil, they appreciated the “bounty of nature” and encountered hibernating frogs and beetle larvae, adding an element of surprise to the activity.
Later, the participants cleared bamboo grass and weeds at the forest maintenance area, did improvement cutting, and removed deadwood and logs. This time, the group also worked on thinning trees, everyone working together to remove two trees affected by Japanese oak wilt that posed a risk to surrounding trees. With participants concentrating on the work, they could further expand the area of the maintained forest.

In the craftwork session, the participants experienced making lampshades using wood collected onsite. While struggling somewhat to assemble branches into a pyramid shape, persistent efforts enabled everyone to create their very own masterpiece.

Through lectures on biodiversity conservation and activities in the forest maintenance area led by the nature school staff, participants learned about “the relationship between humans and natural forests” and “the diversity and importance of forest organisms.”

For information on the Hitachi High-Tech Group's efforts to conserve biodiversity, please visit the following website.