Kitahiroshima Cho is located in the northwest of Hiroshima Prefecture and has rich nature. Kitahiroshima Cho passed an ordinance to protect its nature and implements initiatives for that purpose.
An ordinance is a rule decided by a prefecture or municipality.
 



Kogen-no-Shizenkan is a learning facility that presents nature in Kitahiroshima Cho in a comprehensible way. It was built as an initiative to protect nature in Kitahiroshima Cho.

　Protecting marshes (Kirigatani Marsh, Yawata Highland, Kitahiroshima)
Yawata Highland used to be a lake over 10,000 years ago. Water from the lake has disappeared since, and people made paddy fields on land that was once the bottom of the lake. There are about 20 big and small marshes in Yawata Highland, which has a rainy climate.
　Rare plants and animals that cannot be found elsewhere live in marshes.
 

 


　Climate in Yawata Region
Average temperature: 10℃
Average temperature in August: 23℃
　It is as cold as Aomori Prefecture, and up to 1 m of snow can accumulate in winter.
　It rains the most of anywhere in Chugoku Region.
 
Rare creatures in Kirigatani Marsh


Turning marshes into pasture
　Some decades ago, marshes were considered not very useful to people.
About 40 years ago, the Japanese government and towns planned to turn marshes into pasture to raise cattle and dug drains to let the water drain easily. However, pasture grasses did not grow well due to the low temperature. The marshes dried up, and plants and animals that used to live in the marshes disappeared.
Creatures in marshes are all connected, so the whole nature of Yawata Marsh was destroyed. And because marshes function as a natural dam, floods became frequent.

Returning pasture to marsh
　Hiroshima Prefecture and Kitahiroshima Cho established “Yawata Marsh Nature Revival Council” in 2004 to revive marshes with the help of local people.
First, they cut big trees that do not usually grow in marshes. Then, they blocked the drains to retain water and make the land more moist. They returned the river surround by concrete to its original state and made a wooden path to observe the land and see if it returned to marsh.
　With this hard work, marshes gradually returned to their original state and people began to visit the marshes to see beautiful flowers.


 
Grassland and creatures that disappeared
Grassland used to exist across Japan until the Meiji Period, because people used to grow pasture grasses and graze their cows, which they used for agriculture.　However, the number of cows decrease as people started to use machines for agriculture. There was no more need for feed, and the grassland gradually disappeared. Grassland existed because people did controlled burns every spring to grow only grass and not trees. Once they stopped doing controlled burns, grassland across Japan turned into forest.
　At the same time, creatures in grassland lost their habitat and disappeared one by one.
 




Restoring grassland
　Responding to the call of Mr. Shirakawa of Kogen-no-Shizenkan, people in Kitahiroshima Cho and volunteers started controlled burns on Mount Ungetsu.
Controlled burns on Mount Ungetsu have been done every spring for 10 years (2005), with the cooperation of local people and volunteers from across Hiroshima Prefecture and other parts of Japan.
Children of Ungetsu Elementary School make a presentation on the controlled burn and provide help. They also perform an operetta about the importance of protecting grassland in many places.
After the controlled burn began, some farmers started to graze their cows on Mount Ungetsu. Plants such as bamboo lily and Japanese azalea have also increased. Hares and mountain hawks returned to Mount Ungetsu, and people visit to hike on weekends.
 

 



Comments from volunteers who participated in the controlled burn
“I became friends with many people and felt the importance of cooperation.”
“People of different ages participate in the controlled burn, and I learn a lot about the relationship between people and nature. I hope it will continue in the future.”
“I felt pride in our community through the presentation and operetta by Ungetsu Elementary School.”