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Why is this a homepage of a music store? I wonder if it has anything to do with it.
I can hear you say, "Why is this a music store's homepage? I would like to say in advance that there will be no stories about musical instruments here. However, most of the instruments that you use in your daily life are made of wood, aren't they?
I polish guitars in the store every day, and I often think about it. (I wonder, how long did this guitar live in what part of the world when it was a "tree"...)
I think about that...(;? _?) ...and this is also the moment when 8 out of 10 people reading this thought.
We currently have about 3,000 used instruments in our inventory, and each used or vintage instrument is different in age and country of production, which means that each instrument has come to Shin-Okubo, Tokyo, from all over the world with various histories. This means that "a variety of woods are gathered here," and for me, it is not only a music store, but also a plant archive where materials of different ages from all over the world are gathered.
This is spruce, which is often used for acoustic guitar tops, and you can see the alternating rows of white and dark brown areas. The white part is called the "summer grain" (grown from spring to summer) and the darker part is called the "winter grain" (grown from fall to winter), and a few millimeters of the two together is one year's growth. Yes, if you think about it, only this amount of thickness grows thicker in a year. If you count this steadily, you will see that the tree is at least XX years old, although the ...... eyes will start to glaze over. The wood of an expensive instrument and the wood of a cheap instrument both have a long history of living as plants, and this grain is proof that the wood has survived on this earth for at least twice as long as you have. When I think about it, I naturally feel "hmmm, that's amazing" (**).
As I was feeling this way, I began to wonder what it actually means for a tree to grow over tens or hundreds of years, and I decided to experience the process with my own eyes and see for myself. Although I am too old to see a tree grow into a big tree, I decided to participate in tree-planting volunteer activities in the hope that the experience of actually planting a tree with my own hands will help me to think about the depletion of materials and the environment.
In this day and age of serious environmental problems, many people are interested in tree planting activities. Many of you may be interested in tree planting, but may be wondering where and how to plant trees in the mountains. If you are interested in tree planting, but have doubts about how and where to plant trees in the mountains, this article will surely answer all of your questions. We will now introduce a day in the life of a tree-planting volunteer, with a brief but steady progression of time. I am sure there are many thoughts and opinions, whether you are interested in musical instruments or not, lumber or not, tree planting or not, but at any rate, I hope that many of you will read through this report. (There are only pictures and almost no text... ^ ^ ;)
Please take a look.
A certain day of a certain month
We woke up before 5:00 a.m. It is a matter of course that we have to wake up early in order to head for the mountains. Once this difficulty is overcome, the rest can be managed ( _ _ )zzz
Before 6:00 a.m., we somehow manage to get ready and leave the house. A refreshing early summer breeze blows us to the station.♪...but unfortunately, rain was forecast for that day. I got to the nearest station, drenched with rain. From there, I moved to Shinjuku.
At 6:24 a.m., we boarded a designated rapid train departing from Shinjuku and headed for the northern part of the Kanto region. In a terribly low tension, I quietly poured down my breakfast in the train, put my hoodie over my head, and went to sleep for a while.
After about 2 hours, we arrived at the transfer point at 8:14 a.m. We changed to the 8:23 a.m. local train for about another 45 minutes.
What the hell is going on? (It was raining so hard that I wondered what was going to happen......and at 9:08am, I arrived at the last station, my destination.
As we exited the station, several buses were waiting to pick us up from the NPO that would be taking care of us this time, and all the participants who had gathered there were getting on the buses one after another. We quickly got on the bus following everyone else, and the ride took about 40 minutes or so. The mountains came into view outside the window.
It has been more than 4 hours since we left home (◎;;) and we have finally arrived at our destination=3. The rain, which had been pouring down, stopped before we knew it during the trip.
The low tension of the morning, which was like the depths of hell, was gone! I'm here at last!" I jumped off the bus with a vigor not seen in my character. We jumped off the bus with uncharacteristic vigor and started waddling to the tree-planting point.
Well, how far do I have to walk from here to get to the site? I was about to ask myself, "How far do I have to walk from here to get to the site? When I looked where he was pointing, I saw that the people who had arrived by the bus in front of us had already started planting trees.
I thought it was going to be a long walk to the tree-planting site. I'm glad I'm not exhausted." I looked back with a relaxed look on my face.
Gee!
There were people climbing up a very steep slope...
That's right! The tree-planting course this time was divided into a gentle slope and a steep slope, and I, who was not confident in my legs and back, had chosen the gentle slope. The steep slope course had a slope of 30 degrees and involved several round trips up and down a 200-meter stairway. I shuddered just imagining how my feet would feel after planting the trees. However, without people working on the steep slope, the area would never grow green. It was a moment when I realized that mountains can be regenerated only with the help of many people.
So, I immediately started working with the instructor, who showed me how to do it.
As you can see, the preparation for digging the holes was done in advance, and the saplings were planted in these holes. The fact that so many people had made these preparations in advance was also a source of great admiration.
At the bottom of the hole, grass stumps and stones are placed. The grass roots will provide nutrients later.
Then, a bucket of black soil is poured into the hole.
Half a bag of humus
Then, a half a bag of powdered charcoal is put in.
Mix well.
By the way, the forecast temperature for that day was 12 degrees Celsius. It was probably a little warmer than the actual temperature, but it was just right for a long-sleeved shirt and a parka. Moreover, as you can see in the picture, my shoes are Kovers. I was not sure if I would be able to work in the mountains in my Kovers. I was a bit nervous, as I did not have any hiking shoes with me, but the terrain was mostly flat and light sneakers would have been fine. However, the point was mostly flat and light sneakers would have been fine. I also brought a thin jacket to protect myself from the cold, but in the end I did not need it. I brought another thin jacket to protect myself from the cold, but in the end I didn't need it either.
(However, my favorite Koiverse is very active in the mountains, as you would expect.★)
Now, it is time to plant the saplings!♪
It takes about three years for the saplings to reach this size...
The soil around the sapling is gently placed around the sapling while the surrounding soil is being returned.
Ei Ei Ei
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Then it looks like this
And finally, mulching is done by spreading the bark of cedar trees around the area. This work is done to prevent dryness and cold, and to prevent the growth of weeds around the area.
This is the finished product! There were several different kinds of seedlings prepared for the project, and I'm sorry, I have no idea what kind of tree this is.
I looked up at the sky while we were working. It had been raining lightly, and the sky was completely white with clouds. I thought for a moment that it would be pleasant if the sky were blue, but what if the sun was shining?
We were planting seedlings because there were no trees = no shade = it was too hot to take a break... (I came without a hat...) I thought again that this was the perfect day for tree-planting. It is better to bring a hat during the season when ultraviolet rays are strong (^ ^ ;)).
Then we steadily planted the seedlings, and the whole process is almost complete. The bark, charcoal powder, black soil, and other materials we used were all provided by the sponsor company, and we used them with great care, even though it was only a feeling.
Lots of seedlings here, too!
Several hundred participants planted saplings all over the area. It was actually quite a large area, but it didn't take long. This column is already coming to an end.
Now, after cleaning up the shovels and buckets, the long-awaited lunch was ready!♪♪Lunch was served before 1:00 p.m., so the work must have been completed smoothly. The participation fee for the day (3,000 yen) included lunch, pork miso soup, and water, in addition to bus fare and insurance.♪♪The pork miso soup, which is completely submerged in the picture, is full of ingredients!♪♪ We enjoyed it without leaving any of the ingredients. We ate most of the snacks we had brought, and had time for socializing.
After the meeting, the NPO members and participants gathered for today's debriefing session, which ended without incident. Due to the unstable weather conditions, the group disbanded around 3:00 PM, a little earlier than the scheduled end time.
Now, we boarded the bus and left the site. From the bus window, we could see the site of a former copper mine just next to the tree-planting site. The surrounding mountains have been rapidly transformed by deforestation, sulfurous acid gas emissions, and forest fires caused by the operation of the mine. The charcoal powder used for the tree planting was intended to neutralize the acidic soil, which is still contaminated. I was speechless as I listened to the stories of those who are working day by day to revive "real forests" in this wasteland, which is said to be one of the most difficult to restore in Japan. It was a very thought-provoking scene.
When we went down to the city center, it was pouring down hard.
If it rained like this up there, it would have been a disaster. We were thankful for the weather and headed home safely. It was before 8 pm when we returned to Shinjuku. It took us a whole day to get there, but it was an opportunity for me to take a fresh look at my own life, reminding me that we must be mindful of our limited resources.
Although the saplings we planted this time were different from those used for musical instruments, the wooden parts of the instruments you are using were all large trees at first, as a matter of course. There are some outstanding instruments, such as violins, that have existed for hundreds of years and continue to exude an overwhelming value and charm that cannot be surpassed. Even after being transformed from a tree into a musical instrument, a tree lives on through the hands of people for a long time. We are sure that you, who love musical instruments, are happy to cherish your guitars and basses, saying, "I am glad that they have been reborn as musical instruments and can now play music! I am sure that your guitars and basses are happy to have been reborn as instruments and to be able to play music!
And now, I am talking about ecology, but there are many ecological things we can do in our daily lives, even if we do not go to the mountains.♪Yes, there are! Speaking of ecology that we can do because we use musical instruments, selling musical instruments = recycling!♪Your musical instruments are important resources! If you have musical instruments that are no longer in use, have been replaced, or are just sitting in your room, please bring them to our store! The instruments will be happy and your pocket will be warmed, "purchase" is ecology that makes everyone happy. We are waiting for your visit with high appraisal, so please feel free to contact us!
Click here for the purchase form.♪
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So, the end came quickly (^^^;). Now, if this column is to be continued in the next issue, the next one will be "weeding experience".... Unfortunately, I don't have this one because no one wants to see the endless ...... images of me plucking the overgrown grass there, but I hope to be able to tell you how this young tree has grown up one day!
See you all next time (?). I hope to see you all next time. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
The volunteer activities in this column are different from our company's charitable activities.