information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
25 Janvier 2013
January 25, 2013
A massive tree-planting project along about 160 kilometers of road in coastal areas of Fukushima Prefecture aims to construct the nation's most beautiful row of flowering cherry trees in the area devastated by the March, 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, as well as the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Led by members of Happy Road Net, a nonprofit organization, and others, the tree-planting festivities will kick off Saturday in Shinchi, the prefecture's northernmost town, with a goal of planting about 1,600 cherry trees this year.
The project envisions annual plantings that will take place from January to March, aiming to decorate 160 kilometers of road with about 20,000 cherry trees.
A call for volunteers and donations for the project--including the adoption of individual cherry trees--has been announced.
The tree-planting project had in fact been proposed by the organization's director, Yumiko Nishimoto, well before the disaster in March 2011. Due to the crisis at the Fukushima plant, however, Nishimoto and other members were forced to evacuate the town, and she had almost given up on the idea.
Later on, hoping to make the area a source of local pride for children decades into future, she decided to embark on the project thinking, "I'll make the nation's most beautiful row of cherry trees, which will serve as a symbol for reconstruction from the disaster."
The varieties of cherry trees to be planted include someiyoshino, weeping cherry trees and double-flowered cherry trees, purchased as saplings using a prefectural government subsidy.
Local middle and high school students will take part in Saturday's planting. The students will write messages on a board addressed to the community 30 years from now, and the boards will be attached to the saplings. The cherry trees are expected to blossom in four or five years, according to the organization.
About 100 saplings will be planted on Saturday along National Highway Route 6 near the Shinchi town government offices. After that, the organizing committee plans to plant cherry trees in the Onahama district of Iwaki, the Odaka district of Minami-Soma and Naraha, excluding areas where entry is restricted due to the situation at the nuclear plant.
The organization is also calling for the public to adopt individual cherry trees for a contribution of 10,000 yen as part of the establishment of a project fund. Contributions will be used for the purchase of saplings or the care and maintenance of the trees. Those who adopt a cherry tree will be provided a board on which to display their names and messages on the tree, according to Happy Road Net.
"I hope many people across the nation will learn about the project to prevent the memories of the disaster from fading away," Nishimoto said at a press conference earlier this week.
For the past five years, Happy Road Net has been engaged in cleanup activities such as collecting roadside litter with the aid of local high school students. The organization is headquartered in the town of Hirono in the prefecture.
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