A floating forest to bring a cool breeze to Tokyo Bay

[M II A II R II K]

A floating forest to bring a cool breeze to Tokyo Bay


December 02, 2011

By SOPHIE KNIGHT

Read More: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_ja...J201112020065a

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The "Sea Forest," or "Umi no Mori," will transform 88 hectares of reclaimed land, a 30-meter deep mound of alternating layers of landfill, into a dense forest of nearly half a million trees. The 12.3 million tons of waste from Tokyo's households was collected between 1973 and 1987. "Umi-no-Mori (Sea Forest) will become a symbol of our recycling-oriented society through which Japan, a country that has a tradition of living hand-in-hand with nature, can make an appeal to the world about the importance of living in harmony with the environment," says Ando.

- Transforming effluent into an ecological wonderland is no simple task. It will be a community-wide effort, one that is intended to teach people the value of greenery in an urban environment, as well as giving them a sense of ownership and responsibility for public space. Not only is Ando asking for 1,000-yen ($12.80) donations from 500,000 individuals to help fund the project, he is also asking them to get their hands dirty. Since 2007, around 10,000 volunteers have planted saplings cultivated from seeds by elementary school children.

- Publicized with the slogan, "Not for us, but for our children," it is a project with unusual foresight for Tokyo, where market-based land use means that buildings stand for an average of just 20 years before being torn down. The Sea Forest, however, was originally planned as part of Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, which also involved solar-powered stadiums and zero-waste ambitions. Although the bid failed, the forest project was too compelling to give up on. Ironically, the Olympic complex was to be built on one of the least "green" places in Tokyo: the bay. Once an open stretch of water, it is now cluttered with islands of reclaimed land that were created as early as 1910, the most famous of which is now the recreational district of Odaiba. The grass that covers many of the islands belies the fact that they are literally trash heaps.

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From left to right: Volunteers Yozo Wakabayashi, Eijiro Hayashi, Kyoko Takeshi, Naomi Hassaki and Tomoko Masuda pose after planting trees at the "Sea Forest" in Tokyo Bay on Nov. 13. (Sophie Knight)

[RLS_rls]

What a great project. This shows great foresight, and the slogan really sums that up.