Airport News Japan

Forestation around Noto Airport - ANA Group Environmental Contribution Activities

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"Sky Noppy," a mascot of Noto Airport.

On October 24, ANA Group carried out a project under the name of "My Blue Skies: Noto Airport & the Kiriko Forest” to make an environmental contribution to the town of Mitsui near Noto Airport (located in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture).

The project is part of the company group’s activities to create greenery by planting forest trees in partnership with local residents, which began in 2004 in the surrounding areas of airports across Japan. With the support of Noto Airport Terminal Building Co., Ltd., which manages and administers Noto Airport’s passenger building, this environmental project by ANA Group has been carried out in the Hokuriku region for the first time.

A kiriko is a giant sacred lantern for summer and autumn festivals from the Noto region. The forestation project is mainly planting “ate” (pronounced “ah-tay”), or “Noto hiba” trees that are used to make the Noto kiriko.

About 150 volunteers showed up on the day to plant 400 broadleaf saplings of species native to the local area such as the ate, Japanese zelkova and katsura. Partnering with ANA (All Nippon Airways) was the Kyoto University Field Science Education and Research Center, whose Professor Shozo Shibata gave a “Blue Skies” lecture on the environment. The research center is involved in promoting activity to conserve and regenerate the environment.

These environmental contribution activities by ANA Group are carried out at all Japanese airports the carrier serves. The Noto Airport area is the 29th in the country. In the future, the group says it wants to “place environmental conservation as our most important administrative task and to proactively carry out environmental contribution activities, with ‘thinking about people and the Earth” as our catch phrase.”

Noto Airport (Japanese)ANA