KAMIAOYAGI MODEL
Koshimaki Project
Also known as: Kamiaoyagi Koshimaki Project for Nurturing Oriental Storks
A project returning rice terraces abandoned for 50 years to wetlands that hold water even in winter, so that oriental storks can spot the water from the sky and land.
The site is Koshimaki, a small district of Kamiaoyagi in Ishioka, within an area selected as one of the Ministry of the Environment's 500 Important Satoyama. We are removing bamboo and dwarf bamboo to diversify the vegetation, restoring the vigor of the trees, and reviving the waterways.
This land is also a source of bamboo and reeds, but at its foundation is the restoration of a wetland that protects biodiversity. Keeping it as a wetland is one of its uses: we keep a minimal observation path for surveying wildlife and cut the reeds once a year. The bamboo that came out in quantity early in the work will stop once the groves are cleared.
The work is done by hand, in workshops led by the instructor Masako Sakata with local people and participants. The meeting point is marked by an old Oyamazakura cherry, designated by the city and estimated to be more than 250 years old, that fell in a typhoon.
STEPS
How we work
- Clear the bambooLet in light and air, and diversify the vegetation
- Repair the waterwaysRevive the path of water from the upper Aoyagi River
- Hold water in winterMake a wetland where storks can land
DATA
| Location | Koshimaki, Kamiaoyagi, Ishioka, Ibaraki |
|---|---|
| Area | About 3 ha |
| Status | One of the Ministry of the Environment's 500 Important Satoyama |
| Awards and funding | Community Grand Prize, Organization for Landscape and Urban Green Infrastructure / Japan Fund for Global Environment |
| Partners | Kamiaoyagi district, Kanbayashi Sawmill, Masako Sakata, Takumi Hirono (Yamanari) |
| Next | Aiming for registration as a Ministry of the Environment Nature Symbiosis Site |
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