Commemorative group photo of all the participants
The "Canon's Environmental Conservation Activities : Getting in Touch with Our Local Nature Habit" held an activity for employees and their family members at Ikegami Honmonji Park in Ota Ward, Tokyo, on October 19, 2008.
This program, inaugurated in 2006, has received the cooperation of rangers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Wild Bird Society of Japan and other similar organizations every year. Through it, Canon employees and their family members learn about nature conservation. This recent event was the fifth time the program has organized the activity to date, with previous ones carried out in Mt. Takao, Mitake and the Yokohama Nature Sanctuary.
This time the event was held in the Ikegami Honmonji Park, with the cooperation of the NPO C&P Support Center, and 47 employees and family members participated.
Ikegami Honmonji Park, in Ota Ward, is a precious forested area remaining in the city. It is also said to be a forest that has survived since the prehistoric Jomon Period.
As they walked through the park, the participants gathered acorns and leaves. They observed diverse types of fauna and heard about how these creatures coexist in nature.
In addition, the participants calculated the volume of carbon dioxide absorbed by trees, based on the size of tree trunks measured in the park. They also carried out a variety of other activities, such as making copies of leaves using colored pencils. Furthermore, they experienced the first step in reforestation by planting the acorns they had gathered in environmentally-friendly pots and waiting for them to germinate.
Following the nature conservation activity, the participants toured the prehistoric Yayoi Period ruins at Eijuin Temple, neighboring Honmonji Park. This enabled them to hear priceless stories about the ruins while actually at the excavation site.
Afterwards, thoughts expressed by the participants included "I think my feelings regarding nature changed, albeit a little, by understanding the work done by insects in the soil and their system of organization" and "my daughter, who usually doesn't like insects and runs away from them immediately, observed them carefully (on this occasion)." Consequently, this activity was an opportunity to take a close look at the natural environment nearby with fresh eyes.
Measuring the size of tree trunks
Touring the ruins