DATE2024.11.15 #News
Gingko” contributions of the Environmental Support Team at Koishikawa Botanical Garden
- In focus: the contributions of people with disabilities working at the Koishikawa Botanical Garden -
The University of Tokyo has two botanical gardens. The main garden in the heart of Tokyo is the Koishikawa Botanical Garden. The separate Nikko Botanical Garden is located in Tochigi Prefecture. Both gardens have an Environmental Support Team, the members of which are people with disabilities. The Nikko Botanical Garden has been especially proactive, and is commited to finding suitable work for each of its individual employees under the slogan “Find what we can do.” To honor their efforts, the Environmental Support Team at the Nikko Botanical Garden received the “Executive Vice President Award” at the “President's Award for Best Business Improvement 2023.”
The Office for Disability Equity held a summer meeting with academic and adminstrative staff with disabilities. The focus of the meeting was to spread the word about the contributions of employees with disabilties. As a part of the event, the Environmental Support Team of the Koishikawa Botanical Garden gifted gingko nuts gathered at the Garden to Takane Ito, director of IncluDE (UTokyo Center for Coproduction of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) and others. The ceremony was held on November 11, 2024.
Gingko nut presentation (from left, Takane Ito, Director of IncluDE (UTokyo Center for Coproduction of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity), Yuji Matsuda, Head of the Office for Disability Equity, and Associate Managing Director Shoichi Matsui (UTokyo Diversity and Inclusion Promotion)
“When we set up the Koishikawa Botanical Garden Environmental Support Team, our initial goal was to protect plants that bear fruit, such as Chinese quince, gingko, and Japanese plum. Now it's been over ten years since we started distributing the fruit that the team picks to visitors to the garden,” says coordinator Sachiko Abe.
After receiving the many gingko nuts, Takane Ito, Director of IncluDE, said with a smile:
“Thank you very much. I'm sure it was very hard work to process the gingko nuts so that they could be distributed.”
After the Environmental Support Team handed over the gingko nuts, they also presented a gingko cookbook and a book about their work at the Garden published by the Saitama Welfare Society.
“It would be great if this event provided an opportunity to publicize the activities of the Environmental Support Team who work tirelessly in the midst of nature. On the other hand, the Botanical Garden's buildings are old and leaky. I hope that the working environment will be improved to give our employees more opportunities to play an active role,” said Atsushi Kawakita, Director of the Koishikawa Botanical Garden.
With members of the Koishikawa Botanical Garden Environmental Support Team (from left: coordinator Sachiko Abe, coordinator Hisako Sato, and Koishikawa Botanical Garden Director Atsushi Kawakita)
At the School of Science, we are committed to improving the working conditions for our members with disabilities.
Links (in Japanese only)
President's Award for Best Business Improvement 2023 (UTokyo FOCUS)
Life in Green Project (Todai Foundation, Koishikawa & Nikko Botanical Garden)