Introduction
How many time passed after intense the Creation was finished?
Primitive plants budded in the primitive grounds and then that grew.
All every life followed the way of the evolution respectively and individually with having relations to each other. They are supported to each other.
Various complex delicate ecosystems were created.

We who are the descendant of that life spoil the base of the ecosystem.
We made other life ruined in the time.
Are we trying to do a work for what?
Damaging nature isn't avoided by the work which we do anything.
But, we determined to be careful of the behavior.

Now we start recovering ecosystem.
We select a solution that support building biotope in elementary school.
For our children,grandchildren will not repeat our mistake.
We will guide them to understand ecosystem and conserve nature.
Khanchu,old(-BC645) wise chinese said,
"A project as spent all one's life is equal to afforestation man."
Eduction is a project that farsighted policy of nation in century.
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Support Biotope in Kyoto municipal Tokiwano elementary school

Kyoto West Lionsclub
Since September 2002
address : 20-5 Kyonomichimachi Uzumasa Ukyoku kyoto city
Biotope in Kyoto muicipal Tokiwano elementary school called Tokiwagi Nature Land.
It was completed as a place for the children's environmental study, nature-views guess,and cultivation activities in November, 2004.
This building program started by help from the Kyoto West Lionsclub with children ,parents and the region people cooprated in 2002.

The feature of this biotope is as follows.
Nature as a forest nearby hometown under the hill restored.
A pond,a stream that flows into pond are plased mainly front of stage for observation side scoolhouse , and a forest and a hill plased too.
Terraced paddy field , terraced field placed nearby hill.
They reproduce the pastoral landscape seen around this school district before.

The ecosystem of Kyoto Nishiyama was restored guidance in Tokio Naito who is authority botany and Siro Nakane who is authority landscape.
both men belong Kyoto west lions club.

Here, environmental study can be advanced experiencing.
The study are by the plant cultivation activity in puddy field and field, in the observation of the wild grass in the forest and observation of the waterside.

In everyday,everytime,is not only in classtime,
Here, a lot of children gather, observed nature voluntarily, and play with plants and insects.
Map of Biotope
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See Student's report-->
See our motivation illustrated book named Nature of Nishiyama-->
What is biotope-->
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Openning ceremony 9th June 2005
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Overview
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Message of pleasure
At last, the biotope to which we had been looking forward was completed.
Our senior began to make biotope four years ago.
They tried to raise a black japanese killifish there, and were making the pond and the river.
This biotope was completed based on that pond and river.
We helped the biotope making though were a little.
Dug up the hole, colleced small stones were collected, and carried soil
put stone , and planted the water plant and the tree .
We are very glad to do completed this biotope
When I saw frist time this biotpoe there were a lot of trees and flowering plants, and the stream flowed.
I thought that it was beautiful, and relaxed.

I want to release a black killifish in the stream, and to raise the underwater creature on the pond.
Moreover, I want a lot of insects and birds to come to play here.
And, I want can observe in this biotope.
Everyone in the Tokiwano elementary school also will observe, study, and enjoy nature.

Please students from the 5th grader to the 1st grader make a proud place in Tokiwano elementary school though we the 6th graders will graduate in March.
I wish you importantly defense,maintain and use biotope
We special thank suporting of building this biotope to Dr Aoshima who is green teacher and everyone of KyotoWest Lionsclub.
Miho Wakamatsu : representative of students,6th grader
23th November 2002

Plants in biotope
veronica persica
 ajuga
nipponensis
 iris
 laminum
amplexicaule
 arisaema
heterophyllum
sprout
 arisaema
heterophyllum
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miyamayomena
savatieri
 Japanese
andromeda
 kirishima azalea
 Doudan azalea
 rice cake azalea
 sedum aizoon
varietas
floribundum
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hydrangea
macrophylla
subspeicies
serrata
 lilium japonicum
,white clover
 Indigofera
decora
 hosta
sieboldiana
Daisetsurei
 nymphaea
tetragona
 Typha latifolia
Hime
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bitter gourd
 sweet potato
gentiana scabra
varietas
buergeri
 tricyrtis
formosana
 Doudan azalea,
gentiana scabra
varietas
buergeri
 acer palmatum
subspecies
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hydrangea
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Observation
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Student's report publicated in 2004
The original document is here.
Until biotope can be done
What does you think of the biotope(Tokiwagi Nature Land)?
The biotope did not exist from the beginning.

It is made from power of everybody, the student at Tokiwano elementary school as you, teachers, and people in the region.
Insects gathered and birds came to fly from making the river and the pond though it is not natural environment that exists originally.

The first stage construction

The plan of biotope started period of "The Integrated Study" in 1999.
the 4th graders wished "We want to fill the school naturally"

The biotope that we wanted was not able to be made though the sixth-year student started making river in 2000.

Principal, Head teacher, a lot of teachers, green teacher, and Mr.Takeda of Gifu prefectural university discussed about the biotope construction
they made the plan.

Big power shovel entered "Tokiwagi square", the soil was dug up, and it began to make the shape of the river and the pond that was now.
And, vinyl seats was paved the bottom of pond so that water should not leak.
A big stone was put to the vicinity of the river.
The teacher plastered cement on the pond in August.
The large tree was planted as follows.
The student of the 5-6th grade dug up many holes of about one meter in the diameter.
So as not to hurt the root, adult people planted the tree seedling there.
the student of 1st-4th grade did help that planted the flower and seven grasses of autumn(japanese trad combination) on waterside.
All students planted turf.
Speciailsts of gardening made it for the last finish
Ceremony to celebrate the completion

The completion of the first stage construction is celebrated on 23th November 2002.
At this time, the superintendent of education in Kyoto city board of education and a lot of Lionsclub member came.
The second stage construction

In 2003,
The dream extended to make nature as a forest nearby hometown under the hill ,
and the terraced field and a paddy field were started making.
The insect and birds come there when a man grows vegetable and making flower is grown.
There are frogs and loach Tagame, etc. in the paddy field.
There are plankton theat becomes fish's food in the water of the paddy field.
That water flows to the stream.
To make a forest nearby hometown under the hill, a lot of soils were needed.
The soil of about 100 cubic meters was carried.
And, father and mothers also helped.
They made the terraced field in "Parents and child's gatherings of summer".
And, the second stage construction was end by power of all students at school, father , mother, and people in the region.

The third stage construction

"Father's meeting" started, and the third stage construction started at the same time.

The tree of oak,plum and syriacus and etc,in the vicinity of the entrance of the biotope were planted substituted.
A parterre was made.
A sapling of Cerasus spachiana f. spachiana(cherry blossoms) was planted the center of that.
Fathers held out work with sweat.
It worried very much about the tree died to plant substitute.
Because it was too hot to plant substitution of summer on the day.
And The root have cutted whether water cannot be absorbed by cutting the root.
However, the tree gets over summer. we thanks to the people on duty who came to the watering every day.
And it seems to put the root energetically now.

The third stage construction continues.
The study square and the activity square, etc,will been make.
after here will been become wonderful.

Builiding biotope by students and parents
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Plant paddy
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Maintenance of the biotope from student's report
There is variously cause that the flowering plant that it wants you to grow up dies.
First
global warming (The earth must become warm gradually).
Second,
They wither being deprived moisture and nourishment the plant from outside that is strong of the fertility is strong .

To avoid sunshiny of summer, move a small flowering plant under large tree.
The watering is done to them every day.
The watering does a lot of summer in the morning and the evening of every day.
Winter when the temperature is low and in a moist rainy season, water is few.
It is not necessary though there is a person who is putting it after the rain.
In midsummer leaf will be hurted by water's becoming a hot water if water is sprinkled directly on.
Water freezes by the root if a lot of waterings are done in winter, and it will wither.

The fallen leaf and the weed pulled out become very good soils when having put it on the compost place for one year.
When that is put on the circumference of the tree that will become the nourishment for plant.
Put neither plastic bag nor the blister styrene, etc. in the compost place.

Please Do not ball play and do not catch insect ,
Do not run and do not twirl a stick.
Overview coverd snow
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What is biotpe
Biotope is an English loanword derived from the German "Biotop", which in turn came from the Greek bios='life or organism' and topos='place'. (The related word geotope has made its way into the English language by the same route, from the German "Geotop".)

The word biotope, literally translated, means an area where life lives. More precisely, a biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals.

Biotope is almost synonymous with the term habitat, but while the subject of a habitat is a species or a population, the subject of a biotope is a biological community.

Nowadays, its original meaning as an ecological space itself is less emphasised and the term is more widely known as a touchstone word in the preservation of the environment. Some people delineate and advocate "Healing Biotopes" as "self-sufficient future communities. Dieter Duhm's book "The Sacred Matrix" (2006) describes biotopes as: "greenhouses of trust" and "acupuncture points of peace". This author has worked with people to construct a biotope prototype in Portugal. Duhm and others offer theories and practices for developing peace villages and global healing.
from Wikipedia in English
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