Shirane-Aoi (Glaucidium palmatum) is a perennial that grows wild in the mountainous areas extending north from central Honshu and in Hokkaido. The Japanese name comes from Mt. Nikko-Shirane, and reflects the fact that the plant is found in abundance around this mountain. Its purple flower with a diameter of five to ten centimeters is seen in mid and late June every year. However, as food for the local deer population, the plant has recently been in sharp decline and it is now designated as a semi-endangered species in the Red Data Book of Gunma Prefecture. The Shirane-Aoi Preservation Group was set up in December 2000 at the initiative of Gunma Prefectural Oze High School and the residents of Katashina Village in Tone-gun, Gunma Prefecture. The Group has a number of initiatives designed to preserve the species, including the collection of seeds, rearing of seedlings, plantation, installation of protection fences, growth surveys and mountain cleaning. Planting seedlings on the slope Nippon Paper Industries has offered its own Sugenuma Forest, located in Katashina Village, Tone-Gun, Gunma Prefecture, as a site for plantation of Shirane-Aoi. Since 2002, a dedicated band of the Company's employees have volunteered to participate in the group's activities. Since the plantation in June 2004, these activities have been positioned as part of the conservation activities for the environment as corporate citizenship made by Nippon Paper Group, and the Group calls for volunteers from its member companies. Running the MARUNUMA KOGEN RESORT CO., LTD. in part of the Company-owned forest, Nippon Paper Development Co., Ltd. provides support for the operation of the Shirane-Aoi Preservation Group Students of local Oze High School take part in the planting. The Shirane-aoi Preservation Group's planting activity for 2006 took place on June 27. Twenty-one employees of Nippon Paper Group took part. Despite the rainy season, the planting was favored with fine weather. Each of the 21 employees was paired with a student from Oze High School and planted seedlings on the steep slope facing the Mida-ga-ike Pond. As our planting activities continue, we are convinced that our friendship with the people from Oze High School and the surrounding community will deepen. The next time we take part in the Group's activities will be in the fall, on September 14. →Go back to Use of the Forests Owned by Nippon Paper Industries