Oct. 12, 2011
Toyota Eco-Institute Wins Environmental Ministry Award
Toyota City, Japan, October 12, 2011―Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) received the "Minister's Prize, Ministry of Environment" in the "2nd Contest for Corporate Activities on Biodiversity"* for the Nature Coexistence Projects underway at the Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute in Gifu Prefecture. The contest is sponsored by the Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation and others with the support of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The institute's Nature Coexistence Projects mainly consist of long-term activities that include wild animal ecology surveys and forest conservation activities. Two such projects are the "Satoyama, Okuyama (deep mountains), Living Creature Project", which enacts ecological surveys and conservational activities for animals such as the Gifu swallowtail butterfly, the Asiatic black bear and the dormouse; and the "Tree-planting Project", under which trees have been planted on a hillside made barren with soil excavated from a tunnel dug for the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. The institute uses activities such as these for topics in its environmental education programs to convey the importance of coexistence between humans and nature.
The Forum for Environmental Symbiosis in Shirakawa-Go, a non-profit organization established by TMC, Shirakawa Village, and environmental non-governmental organizations in April of 2005, runs the institute. With the goal of promoting environmental education, the institute has had more than 100,000 visitors to date.
TMC, through the institute, is dedicated to the enrichment of society with unique educational programs that teach the wisdom of nature and to the development of a broad range of environmental education programs with close community ties.
The institute's Nature Coexistence Projects mainly consist of long-term activities that include wild animal ecology surveys and forest conservation activities. Two such projects are the "Satoyama, Okuyama (deep mountains), Living Creature Project", which enacts ecological surveys and conservational activities for animals such as the Gifu swallowtail butterfly, the Asiatic black bear and the dormouse; and the "Tree-planting Project", under which trees have been planted on a hillside made barren with soil excavated from a tunnel dug for the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. The institute uses activities such as these for topics in its environmental education programs to convey the importance of coexistence between humans and nature.
The Forum for Environmental Symbiosis in Shirakawa-Go, a non-profit organization established by TMC, Shirakawa Village, and environmental non-governmental organizations in April of 2005, runs the institute. With the goal of promoting environmental education, the institute has had more than 100,000 visitors to date.
TMC, through the institute, is dedicated to the enrichment of society with unique educational programs that teach the wisdom of nature and to the development of a broad range of environmental education programs with close community ties.
Outline of the Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute
| Location | 223 Magari, Shirakawa Village, Ono-gun, Gifu Prefecture, Japan |
| Establishment | April 2005 |
| Operating body | Forum for Environmental Symbiosis in Shirakawa-Go (NPO) (Chairman: TMC Senior Technical Executive Hiroyuki Watanabe) |
| Director | Shinya Nishida |
| Area | Site: Approx.172 hectares Facilities: Approx. 4.5 hectares |
| Facilities | Center House (entrance, lobby, cafeteria, offices) Seminar House (study hall, non-profit organization office, craft workshop, exhibition hall) Guesthouses (accommodates approximately 100 persons) Other (bathhouses: indoor and outdoor covered hot springs) |
| Target participants | Individuals, families, groups (corporate study groups, school groups, etc.) |
| Programs | A wide range of seasonal programs (ranging from short, one-hour programs to long-term multi-night programs) is available. Training programs, etc., can also be custom tailored to fit participant requests. |
| Contact information/ Reservations |
Tel: +81-5769-6-1185 Fax: +81-5769-6-1287 |
| Website | http://www.toyota.eco-inst.jp/main.html |
*Recognizes outstanding examples of corporate programs that seek to conserve biodiversity or achieve harmony between nature and people with the aim of encouraging such activities.
