10-Year Anniversary of Promoting Community-Based Environmental Education Programs at the Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute

Toyota City, Japan, June 12, 2015―Toyota Motor Corporation is happy to announce that the Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year on June 14. The institute represents a three-way integration of government, non-profit organizations, and business, built on the slogan of aiming to be "Japan's finest nature school in the country's most beautiful village".

Toyota is dedicated to helping conserve the environment and building a society that lives in coexistence with nature. As part of this approach, the Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute was opened in April 2005 as a collaborative project between Toyota, the village of Shirakawa, and environmental NPOs. The Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute is located in an area of extreme natural beauty that extends to the foot of Mount Haku on the borders of Gifu, Fukui, and Ishikawa Prefectures. With the aim of promoting harmonious coexistence with nature and local communities, the institute has attracted large numbers of visitors, with a particular emphasis on children―who will take on the responsibility of protecting the environment in the future. The institute provides visitors with the chance to participate in educational activities such as hands-on nature programs, ecological wildlife surveys, and forest conservation. Over the last ten years, the number of visitors to the institute has reached around 155,000, allowing a steady build-up in the number of activities offered. Participants have welcomed the expansion of opportunities to think about coexistence with the environment.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, the Forum for Environmental Symbiosis in Shirakawa-Go (the NPO that runs the institute) and TMC will hold a special ceremony on June 14 within the institute grounds in the Magari district of Shirakawa Village, Gifu Prefecture. The ceremony will be attended by Hajime Furuta (the Governor of Gifu Prefecture), Shigeru Narihara (the Mayor of Shirakawa), other governmental and local representatives, as well as members of nature schools and NPOs from around the country. In addition to expressing his gratitude for the understanding and support received by the project, Toshiyuki Yamada―who was appointed as the new Director of the institute in April―will describe the accomplishments of the past ten years and outline the approach for the next decade.

With increasing environmental awareness and rising expectations from local communities, the institute will continue working to provide first-class education and emotional experiences by enhancing its hands-on nature programs in accordance with the basic principles that were re-established in 2013. Under a new approach of encouraging mutual learning, the institute intends to expand its hands-on educational programs to provide greater opportunities than ever before in demonstration of how local communities can coexist with nature. Through the institute, TMC is aiming to take the next step forward in its social contribution efforts by nurturing people capable of taking the initiative in understanding and working toward coexistence with nature.

Outline of the Toyota Shirakawa-Go Eco-Institute