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.

Toward a rich life to live together with the forest

At schools that have long carried out CFP, rich forests have been formed thanks to continuous silviculture activities.  Not only water retention capacity has increased and landslide disaster risk has decreased, it has also become possible to enjoy the blessings of the forest such as mushrooms and wild vegetables.

In order to leave to the next generation that forest giving many blessings, it is also important to teach the method of protecting the forests. Since we organized camps for preventing wildfire and conducted training for quickly responding when a fire has occurred, the local residents are ready for the occurrence of fires. In the future, we want to further promote training by devising the ways of maintaining and utilizing forests that have already been developed. 

Let’s protect our FURUSATO (hometown) !

Tadsanab Watpaco School is Ayuttaya municipal school. Since the school is located near a river, the school premise is sometimes inundated when there is a large amount of water in the rainy season. Accordingly, the principal and teachers who recognized the need of environmental education including practical guidance at school consulted with OISCA and the activities started. 

In tree planting activities, we planted flowering trees and trees which make shade and also to be high quality timbers. Since we started participating in CFP, we are getting results little by little in the past two years. As the children are continuously taking care, the growth of seedlings is good and environmental awareness has been gradually fostered. In practical organic agriculture, we have been able to produce a sufficient amount of vegetables for supplementing school lunch. In carrying out these activities, the children, not only changing environmental awareness, are learning the importance of team work and cooperation. In the future, we aim to develop the activities involving the community people. 

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.

This year also, we connected “green waves” in various places !

In 2015, the pupils and students of the schools participating in OISCA’s Children’s Forest Program (CFP) joined the Green Wave campaign. At 10:00 o’clock on the morning of May 22, they took part in tree planting in the various parts of the world to create “green waves” on the planet. At Banchoktai School in Thailand, 4 organizations including the school gathered and a total of over 50 children carried out tree planting and learnt about the global environment, living creatures and the importance of protecting Nature with their own force.

Learning sessions were also held in other countries. We have received children’s voices of joy: “as we planted trees near the benches used when we study outside, if the trees grow big, they will create large shades and we will be able to spend more comfortably”, or “we have been able to carry out tree planting activities together with the adults around and to protect the living creatures in the community”. In some areas, as certain tree species are believed that the spirit of women dwells and are treasured without being cut down, school children planted such tree species at school and also other species closely connected with the culture of the community. OISCA will continue to support the activities so that the trees planted by the children will be carefully protected in the respective communities and the biodiversity will be firmly sustained.

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.

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.

Banpabongtaogaenchan School is located in the flat land in the mountainous area. Most of the students are the hill tribe and they live in the dorm. The students have actively worked on the activities after school and the school received a lot of awards. This school began to participate in CFP activity since there were no trees at the school land and no places for students to play or rest in. After the activity started, children have played an active role in planting and taking care of the planted trees. Now, the trees are grown tall and have been a small forest that makes shades for the children. Children are proud of their big grown trees. Moreover, they also have dealt with organic agriculture. They could experience harvesting vegetables, eating safety foods at their school. In the future, the school hopes to participate in eco camps and re-cycling activities while working on the organic farming.

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

In the Children’s Forest Program (CFP) of Rattaprashasamakkee School, tree planting and management work, organic agriculture, pig farming, compost making and organic rice cultivation activities are carried out. Before starting the activities, we discussed with the villagers and school on a suitable site and the details of the projects, and made plans together.

OISCA Lamphun Center is located near Doi Krua Mountain. The children who live around the mountain have good knowledge about their environment and nature. They are able to cook the ingredient harvested from the mountain, such as mushrooms, bamboo shoots, edible fruits and leaves, and animal meat. The children are not only trained on recognizing and protecting the benefits of the forest but they also are trained on wildfire prevention every year.

In 2011, Mae Ao Wildfire Prevention Office instructors were invited to OISCA Lamphun Center to teach the children the dangers and consequences of wildfires and how to protect the forest from them. Hands-on activities included making fire breaks in the mountains. This event was an important first step for children and adults to really understand how to protect their homeland in the future.

From time to time CFP schools are visited by international students. In 2012, Banmaemi School welcomed Japanese students who currently live in Bangkok, Thailand. SAWAN, the Japanese children’s group, and Thai children attended an environmental camp held at OISCA Lampoon Center. Thai children and Japanese children participated in tree planting activities together. Although there was a language barrier, the students were still able to have a fruitful experience.

Through this intercultural exchange, the Thai children realized that environmental conservation is relatable to not only their environment but also for the whole planet earth. The Japanese children, who although live in Thailand are often confined by their exclusive community, were able to make friends other students and learn about their local neighbors. Both groups of children received a valuable, heartfelt experience that they will always remember.

Two CFP schools started cultivating a herb called Gentawan (ゲンタワン). It is not only medicinal, but also is a healthy plant used for cooking and dessert. For example, we can put it in curry or dessert instead of potato. The head of the herb contains large amounts of Innulin. Innulin consists of fructose molecules, and so, when we cool the herb, more sweetness comes out.

The students participating in cultivation learn and practice its cultivating and harvesting method. They divide the herb into two portions: school use and home use. Moreover, as it is also possible to make alcohol, the villagers are interested in using it as an energy producing plant.

Bannonglub School has a land area of 4.8 hectares and 0.8 hectares of this area is used for the Children’s Forest Program. The trees planted since the start of the CFP activities have matured. Te forest planted 7 years ago has grown so tall that villagers are able to get eggs of red ants. Red ants make nest on the trees. The ant eggs are rich in protein and become expensive ingredients in Thailand. And in the rainy season, the villagers can collect mushrooms.

The school is taking care of the trees planted and the trees have produced benefits, and so the villagers have come to cooperate with the CFP activities. Also, the neighboring schools which don’t have their own forest rent the Children’s Forest of Bannonglub School as a camping site.

In the school grounds, there are many trees and fallen leaves. They are teaching the children how to make compost with fallen leaves. The children are growing vegetables with the compost they made. The harvested vegetables are used for school lunch and meals at the dormitory. Thus it is helping the school and dormitory financially as well as supplying safe and nutritious food for the children.

Through these activities, the children can learn and experience environment-friendly farming methods and how to economize by utilizing what is available around them. Another program is making floral ornaments. The children are making floral ornaments utilizing various parts of trees such as leaves, branches, flowers, fruits and seeds. This sort of play has become very popular among the children.

Hill tribe children from the Akha and Lahu tribes come to attend Bannongpum School. In the two hill tribe villages, there are many poor families, and they were cutting down many trees to develop farms since old times. As a result, trees were lost and the villages and school faced serious water shortage. OISCA, therefore, started CFP in Bannongpum School and placed an emphasis on forest restoration by planting trees every year. The village people also participate in tree planting activities. Overall there has been a growing awareness toward tree planting among the villagers and the children.

In the school, they are now cultivating local species of herbs such as lemon grass and cumin. They are teaching the children how to use these herbs, for example using lemon grass as mosquito repellent and cumin for mitigating the pain caused by insect bites. The children have a keen interest because they are making the things they normally use in their daily life.

In Ban Pabongtaokaenjan School, children of various tribes, including hill tribes, are studying together. In the school, we are mainly doing organic agriculture, tree-planting and garbage recycling activities. In organic agriculture, the children are divided into groups and make organic compost and grow vegetables. By learning organic, agriculture which is environment-friendly, they also learn about the environment. The majority of the hill tribe children live at the school dormitory, and the harvested vegetables are provided to the dormitory. So the children can eat safe vegetables they produced by themselves.

Ban Pabongtaokaenjan School

CFP school since 2011

261 students

During the dry season, drought persists and the land dries up, and during the rainy season, floods occur frequently due to continuous rainfalls. In Surin Province located in the northeast region considered to be the poorest in Thailand, farmers are suffering from this severe climate.

In this land, making a forest and fundamentally changing the soil and climate is very important, at the same time, is a difficult task. The survival rate of seedlings is low and trees grow slowly. Patience and efforts are required.

Nadeevittaya School started the Children’s Forest Program in 1998. At the time, there were few trees and little shade. But in the subsequent 12 years, its efforts have been recognized, and received many awards. For example, they received the award for tree planting activities in 1998 and in next year they got  the second prize in the “contest for tree planting and management of tree planting sites in education". In 2001, the school was selected as a school conducting excellent education in Surin Province.

The dry land has now become covered with tree shade. In the forest near the school, villagers are seen looking for mushrooms. They harvest herbs from the planted trees and used them for cooking. This is also one of the achievements by the past activities under the Children’s Forest Program.

Nadeevittaya School, Surin

Program starting year: 1998 Number of students: 580