Students at Aomori Prefectural Sambongi Agriculture High School in Towada, Aomori Prefecture, mix powdered animal bones with soil to grow flowers.
Hiroko Obara
Students of Aomori Prefectural Sambongi Agriculture High School in Towada, Aomori Prefecture, are working on a project to use powdered bones of culled pets as manure to grow flowers. The students have grown some 1,500 pots of flowers in three years under the “flowers of life” project, aimed at conveying the preciousness of life and life cycle.
The project was started in 2012 by the pet research laboratory of the school’s zoological science division. Students of the laboratory, who visited the prefecture’s animal shelter in the city of Aomori during a field trip, were told that more than 2,000 pet dogs and cats abandoned by their owners are killed in the prefecture every year and their bones are disposed of as waste.
After thinking what they can do for the deceased animals, the students learned that powdered animal bones are used as fertilizers and came up with the idea of mixing bones of killed animals with soil to grow flowers. They say that through this project, they hope to send a message throughout the nation that culling of unwanted animals should be abolished.
The students crash the bones provided by the shelter and mix them with soil in ratio of one to nine, a task which requires perseverance.
“While we work on the bones, we apologize to the animals again and again in our hearts,” says Rikako Terayama, a 17-year-old second grader of the high school. “By letting people become aware of the situation of animal killing through our flowers, I would feel happy if we can contribute, even just a little, to the reduction of animal culling.”
The students who initially began the project have graduated, but other students have taken over the activities and are growing various flowers, such as marigolds and cockscombs, throughout the year.
The students send the pots of flowers to local city offices and schools, as well as visiting junior high schools to give lectures on the project and offer powdered bones and soil. This year, they also created a children’s book explaining the project.
The school has received many messages of support for the project, but also received criticisms that the activity of using bones of animals is cruel.
“This is not a matter of whether the project is good or bad, but teaching students that there are various viewpoints,” says School’s Vice Principal Tsuyoshi Endo. “The project has given students an opportunity to think by themselves how to face the importance of life.”
Another 17-year-old second grader Yuka Shindo said she hopes many people will learn about the project and its message that all life is precious.
(March 4, 2015)