Cohabiting with viruses is difficult: Oak Tree Wilt in Kanagawa Prefecture 2022

OK. So, artists for GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods may have found the exit from the tunnel of Oak Tree Wilt. It’s not the case in general for Kanagawa Prefecture. I have a feeling especially the north forests of Yokohama this year have the worst infestation to date. Niiharu Citizen Forest is in a poor condition. Just walking around for my recovery from Gastroenteritis, I met the beloved Niiharu being sick … One of my seniors of Kanagawa Forest Instructors told me the 8 years’ data from his forest in Fujisawa showed roughly 20% of affected oaks could survive. “Well, the disease is known in Japan for more than millennia. This time will be the same. The descendants of survived 20% will sprout for the forest of post-epidemic. The life goes on.” Er, yeah. Just like homo sapience on this planet facing COVID-19, maybe ...

These days,
the infestation spreads from sawtooth and jolcham oaks
 to ring-cupped oaks in Niiharu …

In Niiharu,
this supposedly text-book example of Yatoda rice paddies
must have been surrounded by green trees in September.
 Instead, could you figure out browned patches here and there?
 They are dead oaks.

Yet, it is disappointing to find desiccated brown patches here and there on the slopes of mountains and hills. In late summer they were supposed to be deep green, proudly showing their photosynthesis preparing for coming winter. Now the discolored mass is a sign of giant tombs for huge oaks. (Platypus quercivorus, the vector of Raffaelea Quercivora fungus for oak tree wilt, does not infect small and young trees but swarm around large old oaks. Please see my post on August 23, 2019.) I was once asked by a landlord in Hadano 秦野 whose property was along a busy commuter road. His forest was infested by the oak wilt and large trees suddenly died. They may fall unexpectedly over the head of cars and pedestrians. Many people using the road, including the municipal government, asked him to deal with those dangerous objects ASAP. He said, “But you know, asking pro to cut these huge dry woods cost more than 100 million yen. Who has such fortune!? Do you know a resource for these tasks? Grants? Loans?” Mmmmmmm … as the problem is wide-spread, governmental money is stretched thin. They can only deal with trees on public land. There’s no official help … maybe crowdfunding, then? Problems on private properties are practically left for self-helps of landlords, even when the possible harm is for wider public ...

The mountains of Tanzawa is suffering from large infestation this year.
 The photo was taken in Yadoriki recently.
Could you notice large browned parts in the forest over there?

This one was taken in deeper mountain.
Anyway, oak tree wilts are obvious here.

I’ve heard the forests in western Japan including Kinki 近畿地方 and Chugoku Regions 中国地方 are experiencing the issue already for more than 20 years. The current conditions of the forest for Laboratory of Forest Art could be miraculous. It may last as long as the artists tend their field with artistic care. Or, 2022 show could be just lucky for lower infection rates … The story sounds very similar to life these days … Can Director General’s remark about the end of COVID-19 materialize? The forest for the artists of GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods is on their way to long-term recovery? I keep crossing my fingers of both hands …

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/

How to cohabit with viruses: 2022 Laboratory of Forest Art

Now this is the time for my annual adventure with the art show by Laboratory of Forest Art. They opened their door on 18 September for 2022, when the mega Typhoon Nanmadol is encroaching from the west to Yokohama. Already on September 18 we had down pouring and the water level of Meguro River running in Setagaya, Meguro, and Shinagawa Wards of Tokyo reached high enough for flood warning. I happened to visit their forest just before the typhoon, when the sky was calm yet. The artists almost resigned for the fate of their installation under the coming storm while they put the final touch … er, no, I must say they were optimistic in a sort of enlightened way. Nature is nature, and we just think how to live happily with the Mother. This may have been their attitude. It could be a radical difference from their art in earlier days (; my posts on August 30, 2016, for example). The key here might be in Mr. Akatsuki Harada’s word. “Hi, Naomi. You know, this year’s show is like how to talk with Oak Wilt Disease.” Hmmmm. Anyway, better start showing first my photos of their installations for 2022 Laboratory of Forest Art (9/1/-10/23, 2022). The manifestation for each artwork can also be found in their Homepage.

Map for 2022 Laboratory of Forest Art. You can get the paper version at the entrance.

Noriaki Oka: Flower Path

Asayo Yamamoto: Drops of Moon

ASADA: Dragon’s Nest

Kana Tatekawa: Cry

Haruna Chikada: Camouflage of B

Concentrating Haruna

When we go through the avenue of
 wild Cardiocrinum cordatum …

Toshikazu Kanai: the Journey of Ruined Boat II

Kazuo Ishikuro: Dancing on a Stump

Ishikuro sculpted his work straight out of a stump of oak thinned due to the oak wilt. The sculpture is “sprouted” from the remain of the tree like suckers for healthy tree. We cannot move it an inch. He said “You know, normally for this size of work we move the material and stabilize the position of our hands to chisel. This time, nah. I myself rolled about the ground around the stump to have a good point. I devised a longer graver but still could not reach to the bottom.” Please enjoy how his chisel-work goes with the forest.

By the way, last year’s Helper Tower-Human is
well for 2022 (; my post on October 8, 2021).

Naoko Kobayashi: Yokohama Wild Grass Garden – Dream of Quercus Serrata

For Naoko’s concern,
at least Hylodesmum podocarpum and

Desmodium podocarpum this year are formidable there.

Youko Kiga: Meaning of Boundaries

Youko was busy for her final touch.

The “boundary” was harvested from here.
Destroying forest? Not so fast.
I’ll post a story about Trachycarpus
in Yokohama’s forest soon.

Yoshiki Takata: Regard / R(e)ga:r

Youichiro Yoshikawa: the Lordless Garden

And then, Kazuo Ishikuro’s “Giant Mori Mori (2021)” is
invading the Lordless Garden!
The spirit of reptile said
it would come and go until COVID mess settles in some way.

Noriaki Oka: Flower Path

Yeah, and there are lots of mushrooms
busy decomposing the fallen trees
this year in their forest …

Akatsuki Harada: Image of the Giant Tree

This year, the GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods received several grants to prepare, aka for forestry work, their venue for the show. They cut oaks infected by Raffaelea Quercivora fungus, lots of them. The City (; this forest is municipal property) hired pros to deal with larger affected oaks to avoid incidents by falling trunks and boughs (killing visitors, oh no …). The artists also treated not yet much succumbed trees with gallons of tree-drugs to rescue them from oak wilt. I think thanks to such year-long efforts their forest is now brighter with more sunshine reaching to the forest floor. Unlike these previous couple of years, it is not so frequent spotting over our head withered oaks in 2022 show. The atmosphere becomes healthier in the forest, I felt. More relaxed attitude of the artists now could be due to continuous and frequent conversation with the trees to save the forest. It could be very evocative for all of us under this day and age of Climate Change … with lots of visiting super-Typhoons!

The forest of the GROUP is as always next to Yokohama Zoorasia. Since there is no parking, a recommended access to the show is by bus. This year I suggest you come from Yokohama Zoorasia side, not from Hikarigaoka Housing Complex. Ms. Ryoko Iino and Mr. Katsuyuki Ishiyama, the secretariat of the GROUP, installed charming directions to the venue from Zoorasia. In addition the City opens Satoyama Garden Festival for Fall (until October 16) after 3 years of hiatus due to COVID-19. The main entrance for the Festival is on Zoorasia side. The most convenient transportation is a bus ride to Yokohama Zoorasia, from JR Nakayama 中山 Station, Sotetsu Tsurugamine 鶴ヶ峰 Station, or Sotetsu Mitsukyo 三ツ境 Station. (Timetables are here.) Get off the bus at Yokohama Zoorasia and proceed further along for about 400m to the direction of #2 Parking of the Zoo. On your right, there will be a small gate with the sign GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods. If you visit the place during weekends, many buses will take us to the North Gate of Zoorasia that is the closest to the art exhibition entrance. When you leave the terminal stop of Zoorasia North Gate, go back a bit along the bus road, and on your left is the sign for the GROUP. From there enter the forest. The road is a relatively wide walking promenade. Soon you can see a big banner over there saying “the Creation and Voice of the Woods 創造と森の声.”

Please find this signboard when you come from the bus stop.

Ms Iino’s directions show us the way by eyes.

Mr. Ishiyama’s giant pencil, with mashrooms

Here be dragons by Kimihito Zama.

If you find a problem in the site introduced in this post, the best contact address will be GROUP the Creation and Voice of the Woods.

https://morilab.amebaownd.com/
e-mail: morinokoe7@yahoo.co.jp


The city office which is in charge of this forest is

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North 北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-311-2016 

FAX: 045-316-8420

Sick-leave: Naomi’s down

 

Hello. How are you? Naomi’s down this week. Got high-fever, did PCR, received COVID-negative but Gastroenteritis diagnosis, and been staying on bed. Going to have a week off for this blog.

I hope you’re all right. Take care.

Naomi　😶

Forest is Longing for the Sea 2, Epilogue: The recent episode for common eelgrass in Hirakata Bay, Yokohama

 

Nojima Island seen from Yokohama Marine Park

Typhoon Hynnamnor took very strange route. The tropical disturbance became a typhoon on August 28 near Iwo Jima, proceeded to the west until very near to Taiwan. It then turned right almost 90° degree to the north. Many communities in Okinawa, Kyushu, and South Korea experienced disaster … What I must tell you this week about this typhoon is, it also affected Yokohama. We did not have storm rain nor wind. But Hynnamnor disturbed the growth of common eelgrass (Zostera marina, or Amamo in Japanese) in Hirakata Bay 平潟湾.

Could you see strange sea water here?

The storm took time to move to the west from its inception. Strong and warm typhoon waves pounded Tokyo Bay for days. Unusual tropical water washed the beaches of Hirakata Bay for about a week. Eeelgrass does not like hot water. Relatively cold water rapidly coming down from Miura Alps is what eelgrass needs. Instead this time, tons of warm sea water could have helped another seaweeds, Ulva, to override the seabed of eelgrass. The incident may have happened at the bottom of Hirakata Bay. Moreover, strong typhoon wave uprooted and washed up a huge amount of Ulva to the beaches of Hirakata Bay. The artificially “white” sandy beach of Yokohama Marine Park 横浜海の公園 became green covered with Ulva. Worse. Under strong summer sunshine, the microbes quickly decomposed the seaweed on the beach. The green beach emitted rotten smell of hydrogen sulfide reaching to nearby residential area. It became Nation-wide news.

Yuk

The City Office somehow raked the seaweeds. When I’ve been there on 4th of September, the piles of ulva were dotted the beach where lots of people enjoyed late summer. It still smells weird although not so strongly … From the beach I could not know what was happening eelgrass at the bottom of the sea. For water purification Ulva is also effective, but for maintaining biodiversity of the bay …? In any case, the beginning of such strange ulva-hullaballoo was unusual movement of tropical low pressure/typhoon. People said it was due to strange high-pressure system around Japan this summer due to meandering jet stream. It would be due to global warming … Volunteers are planting eelgrass at the bottom of the sea to deal with such climate issues, but … *sigh*

Piles of ulva

A hill of ulva and a windsurfer …

Never mind for beach volleyballers

Yokohama Marine Park

If you find a problem in the Yokohama Marine Park, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the South 南部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-831-8484
FAX: 045-831-9389