Third graders at Shinryu Elementary School learn about growing cherry blossoms in 2025 through hands-on experience. We are grateful for the great cherry blossom trees of Hokuryu Town that grow healthy together!

Monday, June 30, 2025

Shinryu Elementary School - Reiwa 7 Cherry Blossom Growing Experience Learning

Thirteen third graders from Shinryu Elementary School sowed cherry blossom seeds as part of the "2025 Cherry Blossom Growing Experiential Learning" program.

Thirteen third graders from Shinryu Elementary School sowed cherry blossom seeds as part of the "2025 Cherry Blossom Growing Experiential Learning" program.
The work entails harvesting the fruit from the cherry trees, washing them with water, removing the seeds, and planting them in the fields. The seedlings sprout and grow, and three years later, when the sixth graders graduate, the grown cherry trees are planted as a graduation commemoration event.

Ten years after graduation, by the time our children turn 20, the cherry blossoms will begin to bloom. What a wonderful blessing it will be to visit our hometown of Hokuryu on our Coming of Age Day and admire the cherry blossoms that have grown and bloomed on the cherry trees we planted.

The "cherry blossom growing experiential learning" program began as part of the comprehensive studies classes at Shinryu Elementary School, and this year marks its 10th anniversary.

The experiential learning is being supervised by Takebayashi Hitoshi, representative director and chairman of the Kita Sorachi Forestry Association, and Shibasaki Kazuo, a forestry instructor who belongs to the Sorachi District Forestry Instructor Liaison Council.

To everyone who gave me guidance

We also received guidance and assistance from the Forestry Division of the Sorachi General Bureau.

• Toru Otsuki, Director of the Sorachi Regional Forest Office, Sunagawa Office
• Sorachi Regional Development Bureau, Forestry Division, Sunagawa Office, Chief Inspector, Takashi Saito
• Keisuke Doi, Chief, Sunagawa Forest Office, Sorachi Regional Development Bureau

About the Kita Sorachi Forest Association

*The Kita Sorachi Forestry Association was formed in June 1999 when the Fukagawa City Forestry Association and the Hokuryu Town Forestry Association merged, and its area covers one city and six towns: Fukagawa City, Hokuryu Town, Uryu Town, Numata Town, Chishibetsu Town, Mosoeushi Town, and Horokanai Town.

As the local forest management body, the forestry association's mission is to continue to cultivate and protect local forests through cooperative efforts, contribute to the prevention of global warming through forest environment conservation and forestry development, and support healthy, secure and prosperous living standards by preserving water sources, ensuring the safety of the nation's land, providing a healthy forest environment and high-quality timber to the people.

A speech by Mr. Hitoshi Takebayashi, Representative Director and Chairman of the Kita Sorachi Forestry Association

"The Hokkaido Forestry Association is working to protect forests and greenery. This is an activity to raise awareness of the importance of caring for trees as part of children's wood education.

The children are in the third grade, and they collected cherry blossom seeds and planted them to become seedlings like these. These seedlings were planted last year by the current fourth graders.
The seedlings will grow to knee height by this fall.
By the fall of the fifth grade, it will grow to shoulder height.
In the autumn of their sixth grade, the children plant the grown trees as a graduation memorial.

So far, seven batches of trees have been planted.
This year marks the 10th anniversary.
We grow the cherry tree seedlings ourselves.
This class is being offered at four schools in Hokkaido: Hokuryu Town, Uryu Town, and Fukagawa City.

If we plant them around the school, there will be many problems, such as mice attacking them, snow destroying them, or them being cut down incorrectly. Therefore, we think it is better to plant them in this natural environment.

We hope that by planting cherry tree seedlings at Konpira Park, a famous cherry blossom viewing spot in Hokuryu Town, the number of cherry trees will increase, and that in 40 or 50 years' time the park will become a famous cherry blossom viewing spot grown by children.

Seedlings are first grown in pots to allow the roots to grow, and once they have grown to a certain extent, they are replanted in soil and left there until autumn. In autumn, they shed their leaves as if they are going into "hibernation" and go into a dormant state to protect themselves. When this time comes, they are taken out of the ground and laid flat on their side. In winter, they are covered in snow, and once the snow melts and it gets warm, the tree will start to move. At that time, they can be replanted.

By the fall of sixth grade, it had grown to over 1.5m.
At that time, they will be planted in Konpira Park as a graduation commemorative tree.
"It is said that after sowing the seeds, cherry blossoms will bloom 10 to 15 years later. The cherry trees planted by the third-graders will bloom 10 years from now, when they are around 20 years old," he explained carefully.

Flow of the experience learning

Collect black berries from cherry trees

We split into three groups and each person picked about five large black berries.

Harvesting cherry fruits

Remove the fruit

The fruit is placed in a bucket and moved, then placed in a styrofoam container filled with water to wash it and remove the seeds.

Seed drying and explanation session

Place the seeds on newspaper to dry.

While the seeds were drying, Takebayashi explained to us about the graduation memorial trees.

Fertilizing the base of the graduation memorial cherry tree

After Takebayashi's explanation, the students scattered a few grains of fertilizer around the base of a cherry tree that their senior had planted as a graduation memorial tree.

Sowing seeds in the field

Once the seeds have dried to a certain extent, they use a shovel to dig three rows of soil in the prepared field and sow the seeds.

Cover with soil and gently smooth the soil out with the palm of your hand.

Finish by pouring water over it with a watering can.

Protection Work

Cover with a blue tarp for protection.

Greetings from Mr. Osamu Kato, Representative of Naganomori Activity Organization

"Thank you very much. I hope that you all truly enjoyed today's event.

There were also a lot of caterpillars, so I imagine it must have been a bit difficult.

As Mr. Bamboo Forest explained to us along the way, we collect the seeds, sow them, water them, and then when the children are in sixth grade, they plant them, and when they are 20 years old, the flowers will bloom and we hope that they will come and see the flowers again.

I would like everyone to come back to my hometown of Hokuryu Town with their friends and reminisce about the past, and how even though there were lots of caterpillars back then, we still had cherry blossom viewing and had a really good time.

I'm sure you will study this again at school later, but if you feel like it, I would appreciate it if you could go to the library and research cherry trees, which I think will give you a deeper understanding, so I would appreciate your help.

"I would like to thank the teachers and everyone else who came out today, despite the heat, and for helping to ensure a successful completion of the course, and I would like to express my gratitude to them," said Representative Kato.

Everyone gives a thank you speech

"thank you very much!"

commemorative photograph

Youtube Video

More Photos

Click here for 110 photos of the 2025 Cherry Blossom Growing Experience for 3rd graders at Shinryu Elementary School (Konpira Park) >>

Related Articles

Hokuryu Town Portal

June 25th (Wednesday) 3rd grade "cherry blossom seeding" ~ With the help of local residents, the 3rd graders sowed cherry blossom seeds. They took seeds from cherry trees and planted them in the soil. They will bloom in about 10 years [Shinryu Elementary School]

Thursday, June 26, 2025…

◇ ◇ Photography, editing and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi