Vegetation of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School
At ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School, out of a total site area of 37,995 m?, approximately 38% (14,542 m?) is utilized for biotopes, woodlands, vegetable gardens, and gardens, while approximately 36% (13,716 m?) is used as a natural grass field. Within the grounds, 196 species and approximately 20,000 trees and flowers are planted. Starting with the Thunberg spirea that heralds the arrival of spring, trees and fruit trees that bear flowers and fruit throughout the year can be observed on campus. These plantings were conceived by the ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School Preparatory Office and selected based on themes such as (1) feeling the changes of the four seasons, (2) serving as subjects for learning throughout the year, and (3) bearing fruit in succession with the seasons. For example, from the Japanese-style room (Bountei) built for the purpose of studying tea ceremony and flower arrangement, one can view tea flowers such as Enshu-mukuge (hibiscus syriacus), camellias (Seiobo), and Rikyu-bai (pearlbush).
Among the selected trees, there are many edible fruit trees such as loquat, summer orange, lemon, mulberry, bayberry, and pomegranate. Because ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School emphasizes concrete observation and hands-on experience, an environment is provided where students can freely touch the plants. Consequently, many of the edible fruits are harvested within reach of the students or within a range accessible through creative efforts like shoulder rides; depending on the season, the fruit on the lower parts of the trees may be completely picked clean.
Even trees whose fruit is difficult for humans to eat play a role in attracting a wide variety of insects. In the "ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School 10th Anniversary Commemorative Publication," produced to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the school's opening, the first principal, Keita Yamauchi, contributed a comment stating that "the trees around the biotope were selected while imagining the sight of students chasing butterflies." The camphor tree, which serves as the symbol tree of ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School, nurtures the vibrant Common Bluebottle butterfly, while the sharp-thorned Japanese prickly ash invites Spangle and Chinese Peacock butterflies to the school. The Japanese prickly ash, which also attracts Japanese bush warblers, seems to be loved by butterflies and birds even though it is considered a useless tree by humans.
Finally, I will describe the changes in vegetation since the school's opening. While ginkgo, Japanese clethra, and trifoliate orange have disappeared, some trees have emerged naturally, perhaps due to seed dispersal by wild birds or by students and staff. An example is the persimmon tree near the biotope. There is a proverb that says, "Peaches and chestnuts take three years, persimmons eight," but a persimmon tree that (presumably) no one had noticed until it bore fruit suddenly appeared in 2022. It is a wild persimmon, and its taste is slightly inferior to the pre-existing persimmons in the carefully managed vegetable garden. Furthermore, a gradual succession of vegetation has been confirmed, such as the natural growth of Chinese elm from seedlings. When you visit ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School, please take a look at the flowers, fruit trees, and the insects that gather there.
(Yohei Naya, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ Yokohama Elementary School)
*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.