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An Account Showing the Value of Kawana Wooded Area.
The best way to evaluate whether the place has value or not can been seen on the user's face.
The all of the people who come to Kawana wooded area are wonderful!
We see smiling kids who play covered with mud in this wooded area.
If we took all the children who become stressed from computer games, private school, and so on, to this wonderful wooded area, we could help rid them of their stress, and see them get their smile back again.
It's an island of green located about 1 Km from Fujisawa station.
You can see it near Fujisawa when riding on the Tokaido Line.
Many people go to school, or work near this area passing by it on their way.
Kawana Wooded Area is Part of the people of Fujisawa's Daily Life.
Of course It is important to exprience "Nature" by annual travel, however, it is more important that we preserve nature in our everyday life. It gives us the benefit of relaxation in our daily life.
Therefore, the people who live south of Fujisawa station need the Kawana wooded area. Just as the people who live near Enoshima need Enoshima and the Katase coast. Just as the people who live North of Fujisawa need Endo Sasakubo Yato and Maruyama Yato.
Perhaps the answer is "No." We've never heard that it is a natural monument. There are no bears, not geese. Originally this wooded area used to be used as a place to gather wood and charcoal. It is not a very large place. The height about the sea level is not more than 50m. So, it is no wonder
that there isn't any natural monument. It is just a wooded area trying to preserve its original nature.
What is precious life then' We adhere to "precious" and "rare" things do we not?Why don't you come to Kawana wooded area, your adherence to only that which is precious and rare maybe be dispelled. There isn't anything that is viewed today as "precious" and "rare" in Kawana, but this very cozy island of green makes you refreshed and renewed again, which is something precious to have in our day to day lives.
Our hearts will be filled with happiness in the wooded area. It is very important that the wooded area brings such joy to our hearts, because we view this joyful reviving of our hearts as important and precious.
Key words are "original nature" and "happiness."
Well, there is precious life to be found in this wooded area after all. What is it? It is the kids who play covered in mud. The kids we could see anywhere before, but recently we rarely see them at play in nature. This is truly precious to a child's life and to ours.
It may become a natural monument in the future, but don't worry; we can still see the kids playing in the mud of this wooded area today.
We have a lot of tiny friends who catch children's hearts. These tiny insects are not precious from the biological point of view. However, they are wonderful friends of kid. The children's eyes and faces shine with delight when they find their tiny friends. We should all want to keep such a wonderful brightness in the eyes of children.
Pic1:
Frog called "Nihon Aka-gaeru" (Rana japonica) 
Pic2: Butterfly called "Gomadara-tyou" (Hestina Japonca)
This area and paddy are everyone's treasure field.
It is the farmers' who is growing rice in the wooded area. It is the NGO, and university students, who come from so far away Chiba and Saitama to keep the wooded area in good condition. It is everyone's and everyone loves it here, and loves to preserve nature.
Because so many people love this area we can still see fireflies in the paddy, and the owls can still live and breed. As a matter of fact this wooded area has been kept up by everyone's efforts. The reward for their efforts has been the pleasure and happiness this wooded area has brought from generation to generation.
What will happen in the future of this wooded area?
Actually, development and preservation are going on together.
Now is the time to consider and decide how our wooded area should be.
The kids who have been to Simizu Yato in Kawana wooded area become captive to its' natural wonders. It happens not only to children, but to university students, and working members of society as well.
Produce by Kawana Satoyama Ranger Tai
(Local group for protecting the Kawana wooded area )
