No.156 Inagi Satoyama Ranger Inauguration Ceremony

On January 11, the inauguration ceremony of the "Inagi Satoyama Ranger" was held in the lecture room of the SHIROYAMA EXPERIENCE STUDY INSTITUE.

In Inagi City's "Basic Green Plan," the preservation of core green spaces such as satoyama green areas, forests, and parks, defined as the "Green Ring," has been a significant challenge in ensuring that the natural environment, which is a shared asset of the citizens, is passed on to future generations.

In 1992, the city established the "Inagi Green Wellness Foundation" and has entrusted the management of designated parks and green spaces in the city to this foundation. However, managing the increasing public green spaces within a limited budget has become increasingly difficult over the years.

The area of municipal parks per citizen ranks first in Tama City and second in Inagi City within Tokyo, but while there is a need to manage vast park green spaces, specific financial resources to cover this are not sufficiently secured.

In light of such issues, it has long been desired to establish a system managed with citizen participation. There were also recommendations from the Natural Environment Conservation Council, and I personally have a strong awareness of this issue. As one of the pillars of my campaign promise in the mayoral election of 2019, I proposed the establishment of Satoyama Rangers.

After five years, it took some time, but when we called for participants this time, we received more applications than the capacity, and we were able to start with the first 24 people.

Whether you were born and raised in Inagi or have moved here, there is a common understanding that the rich natural environment is one of Inagi's attractions. While it is important to preserve parks, green spaces, forests, and farmland that make up this environment, there are challenges such as budget limitations and a lack of stewards.

To maintain and preserve agricultural land and to address the issue of a lack of successors, the "Agricultural Volunteer System" was established in 2016 and is becoming established.

In addition, regarding the greening of street corners, the "Adopt System" was established in 2002, and the flower beds throughout the city are managed in collaboration with citizens.

And now, we have been able to establish an organization that will be responsible for the preservation of public green spaces and woodlands that make up the core green areas, through citizen collaboration and public-private partnerships.

This year, we plan to hold 8 courses and activities by July, focusing on acquiring knowledge about satoyama and conducting practical training in the green spaces within Shiroyama Park.

In the near future, we will provide support, including materials and instructors, to develop into an organization that can also handle thinning in forests with chainsaws.

I hope we can expand to a volunteer organization that can also assist in the management of privately owned forests.