October 2010｜ecochan-blog

October 2010

October 28, 2010 (Thu)The Buzz About Rooftop Farming

Japan is a land of tight spaces and ingenious ideas. No room to farm in the city, no problem! Some companies are running rooftop gardens as a way to combine business savvy and biodiversity. These initiatives also involve the local community to support various projects.

I was able to check this out for myself during a shoot where I participated in rooftop bee farming through the Ginza Honey Bee Project. It was a bit scary at first with all the buzzing around, but proved to have a sweet reward! Honey collected from the bees is sold to local businesses where it is made into a variety of products including limited edition honey cocktails....delicious! You can see me experiencing honey love through this report on a very special rooftop garden in Tokyo.

Rooftop Gardens Make a Buzz / Green Style Japan Aug. 26 2010 on Air

Posted at:14:19 | Category：Programs | The Buzz About Rooftop Farming | Comments(0) | Trackbacks(0)

October 26, 2010 (Tue)Protecting Biodiversity

Biodiversity is under threat everywhere, even in your own neighborhood. I read in the newspaper today that in my home state of North Carolina, the peculiar yet well-known plant, the Venus flytrap is dwindling in numbers due to poachers and overdevelopment. The Venus' flytrap native habitat is limited to a few parts of North and South Carolina, where some estimates show there are less than 40,000 left.

For more on the importance of biodiversity, check out this cute animation, "Save the Endangered Species," from the Animal Conference on the Environment.

Posted at:15:03 | Category：Programs | Protecting Biodiversity | Comments(0) | Trackbacks(0)

October 25, 2010 (Mon)Focus on Recycling and Reuse!

Hi there! It seems that even the film industry is catching on for the need to go green.
This past weekend, the Tokyo International Film festival kicked off with a green carpet instead of the typical red one that usually marks the path for celebs and officials. The green carpet was made from over 20,000 recycled plastic bottles and represented "ecology," the theme for the event for the third year in a row.

You can see more on how recycling waste can lead to some pretty innovative products in Japan. Check out this clip on"Eco Ideas for a Symbiotic Society," to learn more how businesses are coming up with eco-ideas like reusing everyday items to help improve society.

Posted at:20:11 | Category：Infomations | Focus on Recycling and Reuse! | Comments(0) | Trackbacks(0)

October 8, 2010 (Fri)Check Out Biodiversity

Hello, welcome to the first eco blog post by ECO CHANNEL reporter Ginger Vaughn.
To kick off the Cop10 Conference on Biodiversity being held in Nagoya city starting October 11th, I'd like to introduce one of my favorite ECO CHANNEL videos surrounding the theme of biodiversity offered on our website.

Check out this clip on how one community's efforts in a small town in western Japan brought back white storks that were nearly extinct in the region.
Not only did the exotic birds encourage locals to push for more sustainable farming methods, it also helped spark new business ideas such as eco-label stork brand products.

I hope to provide readers with an insight into what's happening on the eco-front here in Japan as I look out for the latest environmental info and green business trends.
See you again soon!

Posted at:11:42 | Category：Programs | Check Out Biodiversity | Comments(1) | Trackbacks(0)