On September 30 (Sat.) and October 1 (Sun.), a workshop entitled "The School of Friendship for Forests and Paper" was held at Sugenuma Forest, owned by Nippon Paper Industries and located in Katashina Village, in Tone-gun, Gunma Prefecture. This was the second workshop, following the opening of the school in June this year.

The School of Friendship for Forests and Paper is a workshop on the natural environment and aims to offer opportunities to enjoy nature and experience the relationship between forests and paper, a material used in our everyday lives. The workshop takes place in Sugenuma Forest, which boasts the bountiful nature of Nikko National Park. On this occasion, a total of 34 participants took part, including parents and children who applied in response to a public advertisement as well as students from Gunma Prefectural Oze High School. The workshop offered basically the same programs as the previous one, namely walking in the forests, making paper from twigs, and observing the night sky. However, the staff did modify the arrangements and details in response to the opinions of the participants of the previous workshop and the results of the staff's own review, ensure that the programs were more enjoyable for those taking part.

On the first day of the workshop, the participants enjoyed good weather. They were able to enjoy a view of the surrounding mountains in the clear air from the ropeway. At this early stage of the workshop, the participants were already saying that they were happy to participate thanks to the perfect weather. At the opening ceremony of the school, the participants and the staff were divided into four groups. They first walked a nature course for about two hours from the Nikko Shirane-san Ropeway Mountaintop Station. They enjoyed observing and actually touching plants such as Ogalabana (Acer ukurunduense) and Mine-kaede (Acer techonoskii) that had started to take on color during the walk. At Chinoike-jigoku (Blood Pool Hell), they looked at Blacked Salamander (Hynobius Nigrescens) babies. These were caught the previous day by the staff for observation and placed at the bottom of the pool in a container with holes in it. All participants intently studied the small creatures. At night, they enjoyed views of the night sky, following a talk about the stars.

On Day 2, the participants began by mashing the woodchips in a mixer. They had shaved twigs to make woodchips, which were then cooked in chemicals by the staff. They were astonished to see the pulp turning white through the bleaching process. When the pulp was made only from the twigs around MARUNUMA KOGEN, the participants began making paper, an eagerly awaited activity. Many participants tried to use leaves as materials in the paper that they were making. They were able to carefully take home with them the original postcards that they had made.

Nippon Paper Industries intends to hold the School of Friendship for Forests and Paper in MARUNUMA KOGEN twice a year, in early summer and fall, every year from now on. In March 2007, the School will be held in a forest in the Company-owned forest in Toyono in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu.

All participants and staff				Children eager to get a look at the Blacked Salamander babies
	Walking through the forest owned by the Nippon Paper Industries		Wring the water out hard!-paper making