On November 4, children from the university-attached kindergarten harvested rice in the rice paddies of the Hiroshima University Ecological and Experimental Garden under the supervision of staff from the Technical Center and students majoring in phytobiology from the School of Science and the Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life.

Ancient rice (black rice) and Japanese rice (Akiroman) were planted in May and were ready for harvesting in early November. Before the harvesting experience, the children tasted the raw ancient rice, showing great interest as they peeled the husks, smelled the aroma, and tasted the rice, cheering enthusiastically, “It's crispy and delicious” and “I want another piece.”

After receiving instructions from technical specialist Tsuneo Shioji on how to handle the sickle and how to harvest rice, the children were divided into groups and performed various roles, such as harvesting rice, carrying the harvested rice, and binding the rice with string. The children were assisted by the university students and did a great job of harvesting the rice, despite getting their feet caught in the muddy water. They reacted in a variety of ways to their experience of being out in nature, including catching frogs during the activity. The children actively engaged in carrying bundles of rice to dry in the sun, moving back and forth to put the bundles out in the sunlight. They also carefully picked up the fallen ears of rice along the way.

This 75-square-meter rice field, which was previously an abandoned wasteland when the School of Science relocated to Higashi-Hiroshima City, was created in 1992 by faculty members of the School of Science and staff of the Plant Management Office to make effective use of the precious natural environment on campus for education and research purposes.

Rice planting and harvesting events at the Ecological Experimental Garden will be held regularly in the coming year and beyond.