Hosei University Rooftop Gardening Maintenance Project Vol. 4 "Summer is here!

　On Friday, July 28, 2023, the regular examinations will end at the end of July on campus, and summer will finally be in full swing. The Hosei University Rooftop Gardening Maintenance Project will hold its fourth "Summer is here!

　The "Green Terrace," the activity base of the Hosei University Rooftop Gardening Maintenance Project, was established in the spring of 2005 and has expanded from a "resting place" for students, faculty, and staff to a "space where endangered killifish swim in the gourd pond in the garden, trees and flowers grow, and birds, butterflies, and other living things grow and inhabit". The pond is now expanding into a "space where living things grow and inhabit," including birds and butterflies.

　The third project will be held on July 7, 2023 (Friday), Tanabata (Star Festival) day, inviting "wishes" for the future of our "irreplaceable earth." Under the theme of "Stars in the Garden," Hosei University's beloved "star garden" that is "full of attention to detail," "Oxypetalum (Blue Star)" from Saitama Prefecture, which has five petals that look like stars, will be planted on the terrace. The "Pentas", whose small star-like flower shape and flower language suggest a wish for a shooting star, the "Tsubabuki", which has the largest number of bright yellow star spots in spring and fall, and the "Kikyo", which has been loved since the Manyoshu period for its star-like flower shape, were selected and planted to resemble a night sky in the garden.

　In the fourth phase, while selecting plants with the members under the theme of "Summer is here!", we will be conscious of the biotope network in the "outer moat" area, maintain and manage the "Hyotan Pond" located in the center of the garden, and think about preservation of local biodiversity and connection with "nature" to create "Hosei University's Beloved Garden The project aims to create "Hosei University's Beloved Garden.

　Once again, after the project is completed, "UCHIMIZU AT HOSEI" will be held, this time back in time to the Edo period, using ladles and bamboo water guns, with the aim of combating global warming, heat island effects, and preventing heat stroke. Uchimizu is a summer tradition in Japan, with an estimated 6 million people participating each year. When everyone sprinkles water in the morning and evening, it is expected to lower the temperature through the effect of "vaporization heat," which removes heat from the surroundings as the water evaporates.

　The Hosei University Rooftop Gardening Maintenance Project, for which the Hosei University Environmental Center serves as the secretariat, is aware of the biotope network in the "outer moat" spanning Chiyoda and Shinjuku wards, and has aimed to create a "beloved garden at Hosei University" by accumulating small "encounters" and "behavioral changes" brought about by "school love. In March 2022, Hosei University received a prize in the "2021 Chiyoda Biodiversity Grand Prix" hosted by Chiyoda City, and in February 2023, it received an Encouragement Award in the group category of the "16th Shinjuku Eco One Grand Prix Contest" hosted by Shinjuku City.

　We look forward to seeing you all at the "Beloved Garden at Hosei University," which is "full of attention to detail.