A project to install naming plaques on trees in the Higashi-Hiroshima campus has been launched by student volunteers and university staff from the Hiroshima University Museum and the Higashi-Hiroshima Botanical Garden. On November 6, students and staff worked together to place plaques on 35 trees.

As of 2020, there are 5,545 trees of approximately 127 species planted on the Higashi-Hiroshima campus. In addition to being an important educational resource for Hiroshima University staff and students to learn about nature, seasons, and culture unique to Japan, these diverse trees which bloom and bear fruits with the changing seasons are also popular among the local community.

Among the 5,000 trees, those located along routes that are easily visible to pedestrians and those with great importance and value were chosen, Some 1,000 name plaques will be placed on these selected trees from this fall and throughout the next academic year. The plaques contain the scientific name, the Japanese name, and a QR code, where smartphone users can access the website of the Digital Natural History Museum of Hiroshima University for detailed and multilingual information about the tree species.

The Higashi-Hiroshima campus is the third largest eco-campus among national universities in Japan, with a total area of approximately 250 hectares. A biota survey started in 2012 confirmed 62 species of endangered plants and animals (as of 2020) living on campus. This number is the highest among the national university campuses in the country.