Article on the Yomiuri Shimbun (August 12, 2005) Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. was the first enterprise to participate in the in the Living Together with Nature Schools Program,“Zuttochikyutoikiru Gakko Project” hosted by National Foundation of UNESCO Associations of Japan and the Yomiuri Shimbun. Employees of the company were dispatched to Gohongi Elementary School in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, to give talks on June 21 and July 12 designed to encourage the children to start thinking about the environment through some facts concerning paper. The Project is part of the initiative to realize the Ten Years for Education to Enable Sustainable Development by the United Nations. Using the hours for “General Studies”at elementary schools, the Project aims to encourage each of the children to think about what they can do to preserve the bounty of the Earth for future generations. From Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., General Manager Takeshi Ishiguro of the R&D Plannning Department, Technical Manager Ken Otaki of the Environment Department and Kei Ogo from the Kyushu Branch were dispatched to give well-planned lessons to 43 fifth-grade students of the School. On June 21, the children learned about a broad array of paper types and the features of each through quizzes that asked them to find the same types of paper as actual products and samples, accompanied by an experiment to guess the letters written on paper in an envelope by casting the envelope in light. On July 12, a video on Nippon Paper Industries’mills was shown to respond to the children’s questions that were sent in after the first lesson, such as “How is paper made?”and “Won't the number of trees decrease if paper is made from trees?”A corporate outline of Nippon Paper Industries as well as information on the paper manufacturing process, the Tree Farm Project and other subjects was provided in the form of a quiz show. At Gohongi Elementary School, self-initiated studies and lessons are being planned starting from the summer on the subjects of recycling and the recycling-oriented society, to enhance children’s awareness of these matters. The children are to present study results at the end of the academic year. Zuttochikyutoikiru Gakko Project http://esd.yomiuri.co.jp →Go Back to Major Activities