OU teams up with local residents for bamboo thinning on the Toyonaka Campus

On Saturday, June 8, 2019, local residents, including the Bamboo Forest Thinning Group ( Take no Kai )*, local municipalities, and children's groups in the area, teamed up with faculty members from the Osaka University Sustainable Campus Office and OU students for bamboo thinning in the bamboo grove behind the Toyonaka Campus sports field and Student Commons.

Despite the inclement weather, a total of 99 individuals, including 22 individuals from Take no kai , 59 individuals from local municipalities and children's groups in the area (including 30 children), and 18 students, faculty, and staff members from OU, came out to provide their services, making for a lively outing from start to finish. In addition, students from the Matsumura Laboratory in the School of Economics, which hosts the "Nagashi-somen @ Handai Slope" event each year, learned how to make the bamboo lanes used in the event from local residents.

This activity began in 2011 after the improvement of the East Entrance of OU's Toyonaka Campus, and with the activity now in its 10th year, the Sustainable Campus Office hopes to inspire others to continue to develop this activity in the future.

The next bamboo thinning event is planned for Saturday, November 9. We hope to see you there!

*This local group helps with maintenance of the bamboo grove on the north side of the Toyonaka Campus.