In a joint effort between the Toshiba Carrier corporation and students from Shizuoka University of Art and Culture’s Habitat campus chapter, “Alicia”, volunteers worked hard through harsh summer heat to support their local community by cleaning up trash littered at the base of Mt. Fuji on August 27th.
Campus chapters are self-organized groups of student volunteers aligned with Habitat’s vision, “a world where everyone has a decent place to live”. Operating out of universities, campus chapters act as volunteers, fundraisers, advocates, and educators, with an emphasis on housing issues around the globe and within local communities. Leading up to the pandemic, Alicia had placed a focus on sustainable community development and ecological efforts in their area, including cleanups around Mt. Fuji. Aiming to jumpstart activity once again with the easing of the pandemic, students from Alicia, with the generous support of Fuji city’s own Toshiba Carrier, were able to hold a mountainside cleanup event once again.
With the increase of tourism around Mt. Fuji, the amount of illegally dumped and littered trash has risen drastically. This illegal waste can contain hazardous materials and plastics that will never biodegrade, contributing to the microplastics crisis and threatening both the area’s flora and fauna as well as residing communities.
"Mount Fuji is a sacred place and serves as an oasis for us to easily relax and enjoy ourselves in nature anytime because of its proximity to our factory,” said Toru Kubo, President of Global Comfort Solutions Japan, Carrier, who also volunteered with us. “It is a great honor for our employees to help conserve this iconic symbol and contribute to the local community. In addition, connecting with the local students through this collaborative effort was a valuable experience. Overall, it brings a great feeling of fulfillment.” The day’s activities served as an important first step in jumpstarting the support of safe and decent communities through volunteering once more.
We sincerely thank the many members of Toshiba Carrier and our campus chapter volunteers for participating in this cleanup activity at the base of Mt. Fuji.
