Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH) Initiative

Environmental & Science Education

STEM

Culture

Nature

Biodiversity

Edward Hessler

In 2011, two friends Tomoko Watanabe and Nassrine Azimi founded the Green Legacy Hiroshima (GLH) Initiative in order "to disseminate the universal message of trees that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  GLH shares worldwide the double message of caution and hope that the unique survivor trees of Hiroshima (and ultimately Nagasaki) represent, recalling on the one hand the dangers of arms of mass destruction and nuclear weapons in particular, and on the other hand the sacred character of mankind and the resilience of nature."

The message is one of hope and peace.

The website above includes trees that have been planted around the world, Hiroshima, trees and artists, partner profiles and partner resources but I could find nothing on follow-up, e.g., the survival and growth of the planted seeds. 

 

One of those sites looked like it might be Hamline University--I suspected HU because of the interest of a faculty member in Hiroshima and what it represented. I clicked it and learned that Ginkgo, hackberry, persimmon, jujube, and Kurogane holly seeds were delivered to Hamline University, March 2014. I wondered where they were on campus, surprised that I had missed seeing them. It turns out that I am not the only one who had never known of this. HUs director of facilities and horticulture told me. "This is the first I have heard of it, so I do not know what happened to them." 

 

The faculty member mentioned above has been retired for many years and I wasn't able to ask and the school the  students pictured in the photograph at the link has re-located to a fairly sterile urban campus, so I quit my short search.

I asked about U. S. Department of Agriculture regulations on importing seeds. If carried by an individual they would need to be declared for inspection. Checked bags present a problem since they are not always inspected and even when they are could be overlooked since seed packets might be small and not easily detectable. Otherwise normal inspection procedures would apply, i.e., the shipper indicates on the package/mailer the contents and inspection follows. The concern is disease or pests, including fungi associated with living seeds or plant materials.

In a video (4m 03s) from the BBC, Tomoko Watanabe discusses the GLH and the influence of co-founder Nassrine Azimi on her decision to participate as well as her growing awareness of trees which she had not noticed.