From January 27-29, 12 Japanese senior high school students and 6 teachers visited OISCA Sukabumi Training Center in Indonesia under “International Exchange Program for Senior High School Students specializing in Forest and Forestry” sponsored by the National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization.

　The students group promoted exchange with Indonesian trainees and experienced agricultural field work such as harvesting red pepper. They also visited Sukabumi First Senior High School, a participating school in the Children’s Forest Program (CFP), and enjoyed a cultural exchange session with their Indonesian counterparts, home staying and language classes in which they taught their languages each other.

　This is the fifth program. Sukabuni First Senior High School which hosts every year, busily prepared elaborate presentations. The Japanese students, while overwhelmed by the enormous efforts of the Indonesian side, tried their best to communicate with gestures and presented Japanese culture and language in one way or another. It became a good opportunity for the students of both sides to learn the cultures of the respective countries and promote friendship.

The Green Wave is a global diversity campaign to educate children and youth about the diversity which OISCA has participated since 2008.

The Green Wave campaign carried out worldwide on and around May 22th which is designated as the International day for Biological diversity. OISCA also carried out various activities not only domestic but also international, mainly with CFP participating schools.

In Hong Kong, the OISCA Hong Kong Chapter held “building squares of TSUMIKI: Wood blocks”※ on March 21st 2019.

A total of 55 kinder garden children and teachers took part in building squares of TSUMIKI. They made artworks by using 3 kinds of wood blocks. 

At the end, they made a big town by gathering their respective artworks. After that, they watched the Kamishibai (story telling with pictures) which tells the importance of forest. They intently listened to the story narrated by the speaker and learned about the importance of appropriate forest management.

In Hong Kong’s urban area where the population is concentrated, children have no opportunity to spending time with natural environment. Therefore, through this experience, they have been able to know the importance and blessing of forest.

In Japan, we carried out tree planting and silvicultural activity in various places.

In Yamanashi Prefecture, OISCA held a planting event on June 5 which was designated as the “Environment Day” by the United Nations.

Employees of OISCA supporting companies and staff of the Indian Embassy and local elementary school children planted trees on Environment Day in Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji was added to the World Cultural Heritage list in 2013 but a part of forest had lost ecosystem due to insect damage. They mended some nets which protect seedlings from the damage by deer and carried out supplementary planting of broadleaf seedlings in the damage area. These seedlings planted on this day were donated by the Embassy of India to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth. We hope that these seedlings will grow well and Mt. Fuji will show a beautiful appearance to make people delighted.

2020 will marks the end of the UN Decade on Biological Diversity.

OISCA has been tackling the conservation of biodiversity on the whole earth through various projects. As one of the Green Wave Official Partners, OISCA intends to strengthen cooperation with Japanese government agencies and make further contribution in Japan and other countries.

※“Building squares of TSUMIKI: Wood blocks” :  It is a program that communicates clearly the importance of forest to children by using wood blocks made from thinned wood.

OISCA members, CFP school's students and many friends participated actively in the Green Wave 2018!

The Green Wave is a global biodiversity campaign to educate children and youth about biodiversity. Towards 2020, last year of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020), the United Nations has been appealing more vigorously for its promotion worldwide. 

On March 13, 2018, OISCA, together with 7 other Japanese organizations, was appointed as Green Wave Official Partner by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and Japan Committee for the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB-J) in Tokyo. The appointment is thanks to OISCA’s contribution and international collaboration for implementing the Green Wave activities.

   In Japan, “Green Wave Asakura Water Source Forest Development” in Fukuoka Prefecture held on March 11 spearheaded OISCA’s Green Wave activities of the year. A total of 140 participants including trainees at the OISCA Nishi Nippon Training Center planted wild cherry trees, Forsythia and other species.

 Moreover, at the site of the Coastal Forest Restoration Project in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, this year’s volunteer activities started on April 21. The participants numbering 124 persons carried out such field work as making drainage. At the planting site, it has become possible to observe various animals and plants. According to a survey conducted by the Forestry Agency last year, it has been confirmed that 337 plant species, 278 insect species and 43 bird species are inhabiting in the area. Thus, the project has been proven to be contributing to the recovery of biodiversity. 

 Tree planting and silvicultural activities were also carried out mainly by CFP participating schools in various foreign countries. In Mongolia, the children who visited Japan as CFP Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors are leading the activities and at a school in Bulgan Province, they planted on May 7 Mongolian cherry, acacia and other tree species. They visited other schools in Ulaanbaatar, the Capital City and Erdent City and carried out planting activities with school children. 

2018 CFP Children’s GoodwillAmbassadors

-Philippine and Thai Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors visited Japan, deepened learning and pledged promoting CFP activities

From June 4 to 13, OISCA invited

to Japan a total of 6 persons, 2 school children and a coordinator each from Abra Province, the Philippines and Khon Kaen Province, Thailand under the Children’s Forest Program (CFP). They visited Japanese supporting companies for exchange activities and observed various efforts for environmental conservation in Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Hokkaido and Miyagi Prefecture.

In Tokyo, the visitors were divided into two groups and visited the private corporations which are supporting the respective countries. They came to know how their activities are supported by the Japanese supporters and were highly motivated for further promoting activities after returning home.

Moving to Hokkaido, the Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors and coordinators visited “Ecorin Village” located in Eniwa City and

participated in the Green Wave activity. They first received a lecture on the present situation of forests in Hokkaido and the role of forests supporting biodiversity in order to deepen understanding on sustainable forest development. Afterwards, they did such field works as carrying out thinning trees and firewood splitting under the guidance of the Hokkaido Forest Volunteers Association. Although it was a chilly day, they enjoyed the exchangesession with about 50 high school and university students coming from various parts of Hokkaido.

The visiting group commented: “we are surprised to find how different the forests here are from the ones in our country” and “we now understand that it is important, not only to plant trees, but also to take care and maintain them by thinning and replanting.” It turned out a useful opportunity to learn that steady maintenance activities would lead to the conservation of forests rich in diversity.

 In Miyagi Prefecture, they had an opportunity to observe the site of the “Coastal Forest Restoration Project” which is now underway on the coastal area of Natori City. Mr. Rap Rodriguez, one of the Filipino children, who has experienced mangrove planting in his own country, said: “I now understand that we can protect many

lives from natural disasters by raising coastal forests. After going back home,

I would like to try my best with friends in carrying out CFP activities.”In the future, the OISCA Headquarters intends to make a follow-up, so that the Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors who have deepened learning in the various parts of Japan would be able to lead activities at school and community after returning to their home country.

   On October 1 and 2, OISCA participated in “Global Festa 2016” held at the Odaiba, area in Tokyo. It is an annual event in which governmental agencies, private organizations and groups dealing with international cooperation present their activities and celebrities perform on the stage.
   This year, OISCA exhibited at its booth photo panels on the worsening environmental problems and natural disasters in foreign countries where OISCA is operating, organized a quiz program on these topics and photo-taking sessions with “Kurocchi”, huge-sized doll of stray cat which is the mascot of the Children’s Forest Program (CFP).

   Moreover, some students belonging to the Asia-Africa Study Group of Tokyo University of Agriculture who visited the project sites of OISCA Fiji this summer reported on their on-site observations.
   As the Odaiba area is a sightseeing spot, not only those who are interested in international cooperation, but also many shoppers and tourists visited the OISCA booth. A few visitors commented: “we just dropped in, but it’s worth the time because we have been able to learn a lot about overseas environmental problems and NGO’s activities.”
   Through the various programs, OISCA could widely disseminate information on its activities in Japan and foreign countries

Visit to Japan by Myanmar and Mongolian children as “Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors” under the Children’s Forest Program

  From September 14 to 24, OISCA invited to Japan a total of 7 school children and coordinators from Myanmar and Mongolia under the Children’s Forest Program (CFP) and carried out various exchange activities in Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka and Nara.

On September 20, they visited Okazaki Plant of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Aichi Prefecture, and in front of the company officials and workers, delivered presentations on the respective forestation activities carried out while facing the serious water shortage in Myanmar and the severe natural disasters and climate change in Myanmar.

 In Tokyo, the group participated in a work shop at Nerima Art Museum and underwent studies at NPO Medakanogakkou. While in the Kansai Region, they observed the Kasugayama Virgin Forest located in Nara Prefecture and had an exchange session at Yoshikawa Elementary School in Toyono, Osaka Prefecture.

OISCA Participated in Eco-Products Exhibition 2015

OISCA took part in the “Eco-Products 2015” held at Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center) from December 10 to 12, 2015. The eco-products exhibition featuring environmental technologies and environmentally-friendly products and services is held annually since 1999 and is known as one of the largest exhibitions of its kind in Japan. The visitors numbering about 169,000 persons comprised representatives from private corporations, industrial and commercial organizations, national and local government agencies, environmental NPOs and NGOs and general public with interest in environmental issues.

On December 10 and 11, OISCA carried out a workshop demonstrating “Tsumiki” (wooden blocks)which utilized thinned woods and many children came around to play with the Tsumiki.

In the booth, OISCA also exhibited various photo panels and other information materials depicting the activities such as the Children’s Forest Program (CFP) conducted in Japan and overseas. The OISCA exhibits attracted a large number of visitors including Malaysians and Vietnamese who expressed a keen interest in environment.

Visit to Japan by Indonesian and Thai Children Goodwill Ambassadors

From October 19 to 30, 2015, a group of Indonesian and Thai children came to Japan as CFP Children Goodwill Ambassadors. The children visited Osaka, Nara, Aichi, Gifu, Shizuoka and Tokyo, and learnt about Japan’s Nature and efforts for conserving the environment while carrying out exchange programs in the various areas.

They first visited Yoshikawa Elementary School in Toyonoo, Osaka Prefecture, and introduced to the Japanese children the cultures of their respective countries through presenting songs and dances and at the same time, enjoyed an exchange program through Japanese traditional plays and joint drawing of pictures.

On October 22, the CFP Children Goodwill Ambassadors visited the Osaka ATC Green Eco Plaza and observed the approaches of private companies towards the environmental problem and the exhibition of the latest technologies.

In Gifu Prefecture, the children’s group visited the Kitagata Minami Children’s Hall, learnt about the efforts made by the local public facility for supporting child rearing and experienced the Japanese traditional plays such as OTEDAMA (juggling bags game) or KENDAMA. At Kitagata Nishi Elementary School, the visiting group reported on the environmental problems and forest development in the two countries and also enjoyed a cultural program through presenting songs and eating school lunch together. At the Gifu Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry High School, following the presentation by the children’s group, they made a tour of the school facilities and then, experienced making ice cream produced and sold at school. The children were highly impressed by the activities of the high school students who are comprehensively involved in taking care of animals and crops, planning, manufacturing and marketing of products.

On October 25, the CFP Ambassadors group moved to Aichi Prefecture. They carried out an exchange program with the local children at OISCA Chubu-Nippon Training Center. After making on-site visit to a local forest, they made presentations on their activities in the home countries and exchanged opinions on the differences of their respective forests and efforts for environmental conservation.On October 26, the children’s group visited the Aichi EXPO 2005 Memorial Park, learnt about Japan’s four seasons through Nature observation and enjoyed handicraft using natural materials such as acorns available in the forest. On that day, they had home-stay program with Japanese families and experienced Japanese life and culture.

On October 27 and 28, the Thai children group visited OISCA Academy Senior High School. The school is alma mater of Ms. Samai Srilueang, the coordinator of the group. She visited there for the first time in a long time. The children experienced tea ceremony and learnt about the various activities for environmental conservation of the school such as mangrove planting along Hamana Lake, separation of waste and recycling. They were surprised at the high environmental awareness of the high school students and got a hint for their future activities.

On October 28, the Thai and Indonesian groups joined again in Tokyo. They visited the Asakusa Shrine and the old folk house and learnt about the Japanese religious beliefs and traditional architecture.

The Thai group left Japan for home on the late night of October 28. Meanwhile, the Indonesian group had a presentation meeting on October 29 at the OISCA Headquarters in Tokyo. A boy from Madura Island which suffers from perennial water problems such as floods in the rainy season and drought in the dry season appealed the importance of forest conservation and strongly urged the participants to protect the green earth. Aside from the children, the accompanying local staff also made presentations on the significance of the children’s participation and involvement of the local residents in the CFP activities.

Although their stay in Japan was for only 10 days, it seemed to be irreplaceable time with many encounters and discoveries. It is hoped that the children will bring back home their new experiences and learning, and take initiative in promoting the Children’s Forest Program.

Japanese University Students Undergo Practical Training in Agriculture at OISCA Projects Sites Abroad

This autumn, two groups of Japanese university students interested in international cooperation carried out field training in agriculture in the Philippines and Fiji. From September 15 to 22, 5 students from the Faculty of International Agriculture and Food Studies, Tokyo University of Agriculture, went to the Philippines for practical training at OISCA Abra Agro-Forestry Training Center located in Northern Luzon. They experienced grafting of tropical fruit trees, taking care of farm animals such as hogs, cows, goats and chicken, fertilizer application in rice paddies and vegetable seeding. They also had exchange activities with children at the local schools participating in the OISCA Children’s Forest Program (CFP).

During the same period, 18 students led by Professor Shunshi Matsuzono from the Faculty of Regional Development Studies, Toyo University, experienced planting of mangrove trees and agriculture in Fiji. Professor Matsumoto has been continually organizing field training for students in Fiji for more than 10 years.

   This sort of practical field experiences serve the Japanese youth in promoting their international understanding and also contribute to the development of human resources playing an active role in various fields. Meanwhile, the local staff and residents on their part get a great stimulation through associating with the visiting young Japanese students. 

With the financial support from the Global Industrial & Social Progress Research Institute (GISPRI), OISCA carried out the CFP Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors program two times in September and October 2014. From October 1 to 10, Indonesian and Myanmar children came over to Japan for presentation meetings and exchange programs in Tokyo, Kagawa and Ehime. On October 4, they participated in the “Global Festa 2014” held at Hibiya Park in Tokyo, and socializing with Japanese children coming from different parts of the country,  taught each other cultures of their respective countries and communities, and together made a “Promise for the Earth 10 years later”

   Mr. Htet Phyo Lwin from Myanmar told that in his village, it rains in only about 40 days a year and so, only those crops such as peas resistant to dry can grow; in the dry season, there is no water even in rivers, and they get a small amount of water digging the sand, but it is very hard to carry water. He added that although it is tough to raise trees under this environment, the shade provided by the grown forest is cool and pleasant.

　At an event commemorating Japan’s International Cooperation Day held on October 6, 2014, Indonesian and Myanmar children who were visiting Japan as Children’s Forest Program (CFP) Goodwill Ambassadors presented a theme song for CFP entitled  “Mori no Ibuki” together with Ms. Kazuyo Kuriya, a flutist and the theme song lyric writer and composer.

Ms. Putri Oktaviani Rachman and Ms. Maharani Dean Pramudita from Indonesia received intensive Japanese language lessons before coming over to Japan.  They made all presentations in Japanese and surprised the Japanese participants. The Japanese supporters who participated in the presentation meeting in Tokyo commented: “looking at the children speaking with lively facial expressions, we could feel that the CFP activities are really enjoyable and that forests are developed with the hands of these children”.

On the other hand, children from Sri Lanka and Thailand visited Japan from September 4 to 15 and conducted programs in Aichi, Gifu, Chiba and Tokyo. In the exchange meeting held at Aichi Prefectural Toyota Higashi Senior High School which is expected to take part as the representative of the Chubu region in the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development being held in Japan this November, the Sri Lankan and Thai children reported that the forests in their communities have been lost due to the rapid developments and wildfire causing serious problems such as landslides and water shortage and that they are carrying out tree-planting activities so as to lessen these problems. The students of Toyota Higashi Senior High School made a presentation about their studies and research on living creatures in Yahagi River and forests and also activities to protect the environment.

   This year falls on the 60^th anniversary of Japan’s international cooperation and also the last year of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) which was proposed by Japan and has been promoted by the international community.

In the future, we intend to improve through this sort of projects mutual understanding of respective environments and cultures beyond the country and also foster children who can act together.

   The “Green Wave Asakura 2014-Students Environment Forum” was held on May 25, 2014 at the P-port Amagi in Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Four school children from India and the Philippines, who are participating in the Children’s Forest Program (CFP), visited Japan as “Children’s Goodwill Ambassadors” and made reports on their activities at the conference. The Indian Goodwill Ambassadors stated that with the increase in population, there have been growing environmental problems and natural disasters, and appealed for the importance of forests in solving the problems. Also, they reported on tree planting and trash collection carried on at school for protecting forests and environmental workshops. Moreover, they presented pictures showing how the wastelands turned into green spaces, and the audience was quite impressed by the positive results.

From the local side, 7 junior and senior high schools took part in the forum and made presentations on various activities for the environmental protection and efforts for regional revitalization. The Japanese, Filipino and Indian children were earnestly listening to the reports made by their colleagues. Although they are from different cultural backgrounds, they seemed to share a common sentiment for protecting the same “FURUSATO”. The forum turned out to be a valuable opportunity to foster common awareness for taking an appropriate action on the protection of the “FURUSATO” and the earth.

   On May 23, 2014, a report meeting entitled “Natural disaster and children’s challenges (Our forests protected our villages – Typhoon Heiyan Disaster in the Philippines and disaster mitigation effect of global tree planting activities” was held at the GEOC (Global Environment Outreach Centre) of the United Nations University in Tokyo. On this occasion, a group of Indian and Filipino children participating in the Children’s Forest Program (CFP) visited Japan for making presentations on their activities as CFP Goodwill Ambassadors.

   The Filippino children came from the area devastated by the large-scale typhoon Heiyan in November 2013. They reported on the disaster situation and told that the damage was mitigated by the mangroves planted under the CFP and the trees raised under the CFP were utilized as timber for disaster recovery. They appealed for the importance of protecting and nurturing forests.

 Also, Mr. Keisuke Katori, a journalist of Japan’s daily newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, who had conducted a field survey of the Typhoon Heiyan jointly with OISCA, was invited as guest speaker. He reported on the disaster situations in the various areas and explained about the scale of the damage inflicted on the local residents.

   On their part, the Indian children reported about the various environmental problems facing India, presented photos on the successful greening of wastelands though the CFP efforts and emphasized the importance of tree planting.

   The meeting was attended by people from various walks of life ranging from students to office workers. They enjoyed the event held in a cozy atmosphere and tasted rare confections brought from India and the Philippines. At the end of the program, the Indian and Filipino children wearing their national costumes presented traditional dances of the respective countries.

   From the audience, there were strong voices in support of the children’s messages to plant and nurture trees for the future of their villages and to protect the green earth. We would like to closely pay attention to the children’s activities after going back home.

CFP students from Thailand visited Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, Japan.

They had a student exchange program with Japanese elementary school students. Because it was the second day the Thai students had been in Japan, they were still very shy to have conversations, especially because of the language barrier. However, the Japanese students were also shy to meet new friends but the Miraikan leader paired off the students so that they could be more comfortable interacting in pairs instead of two separate groups. This worked out very well, and all the students slowly opened up.

The Thai students were given a lecture on how to create characters from the promoting team of "The Animal Conference on the Environment". Since then, they had been playing with their imagination.

On July 18th, finally they got started to make out their own characters on drawing paper.

They focused on drawing to convert their imagination into tangible characters on the paper.

The important thing when creating these characters is not only drawing and painting the characters but also thinking of the characters’ name, age, job, favorite food, hobbies, dream, and so on to make them have more life!

At last, they all finalized the creation of their own characters that have the motif of familiar animals in Thailand such as a pig, an elephant, and buffalos.

created by ジャッグ (age: 11)

pig スエップ

age: 18 work: cook

favorite food: rice bran

He is wearing a cap painted Thai flag!

created by モス (age: 12)

Elephant ボム

age: 20 work: farmer

hobby: Sleeping in a tree house

dream: making a lot of forests

He is wearing Thai pants!

created by プリアオ (age: 12)

buffalo ダム

age:35 work: management of national forests

favorite food: bread

hobby: TV watching

His clothes are colored blue and red!

created by イン (age: 12)

buffalo ナムチャー(woman)　　　　　　　　　buffalo クリス(man)

age: 25　work: planting　　　　　　　　　　age: 25　work: planting

favorite food: tom yam kung　　　　　　　　favorite food: pad thai

hobby: playing in the forest　　　　　　　　　dream: soccer player

We received wonderful christmas presents from Kohitsuji Kindergarten in Wako-city, Saitama Prefecture, along with plenty of bellmarks. The presents were heart-warming messages and drawings that were appreciating the Children's Forest Program.

Thank you, Koshitsuji Kindergarten!