On October 27, 2024 (Sunday), ILEC held the 5th Lake Biwa Family Seminar, titled “Let’s Think About Lake Biwa from Meta River!” in collaboration with Kinki Rokin (Kinki Labour Bank), the certified NPO Biwako Hojo no Sato, and with the support of Horiba Advanced Techno, Co., Ltd., as part of the Kinki Rokin Social Contribution Project, Smile Plus.
The seminar consisted of two parts: presentations followed by a clean-up activity. 36 parents and children participated in the event.
After greetings from the representative of the Kinki Rokin, ILEC led a workshop titled “Hummingbird Challenge.” In this workshop, inspired by the story of “Kurikindi, the Golden Hummingbird,” participants wrote down what they could do to save lakes on blue sticky notes and attached them to a drawing of dried-up land. This story tells of a small hummingbird that carries drops of water to try to extinguish a fire, conveying the message of doing what one can, no matter how small. Interestingly, the shape formed by the children’s blue sticky notes resembled Lake Biwa—a fitting coincidence for this region. This completed work will be displayed at the 20th World Lake Conference in Brisbane, Australia, in July 2025.
Next, they learned about the importance of water analysis for environmental conservation from Horiba Advanced Techno, an expert group in water and liquid measurement, through a presentation titled “What We Can See by Measuring Water.” Additionally, Yuu Kawamura from the Meta River Kid Rangers, primarily composed of elementary and middle school students engaged in cleanup activities and the protection of nature along the Meta River, spoke about the “Protect the Fireflies Project,” emphasizing the need for environmental preservation to protect living creatures.”
After the presentations, they conducted a clean-up activity at Meta River. They were pleased to see that there was very little litter along the riverbank. The participants believed this was due to the hard work of people who regularly take part in local cleaning activities. At the end of the event, they enjoyed baking bread on bamboo skewers by the now-clean riverbank. This hands-on activity provided a fun and memorable way for the participants to connect with nature and deepen their interest in environmental conservation.
Through this seminar, we hope participants understand how river clean-up activities contribute to preserving Lake Biwa. We hope that this experience will inspire each participant to discover anything they can contribute and take action. We sincerely thank everyone for their participation, cooperation, and support.
