Set among rolling green hills, flowing rivers, and carefully cultivated rice paddies, Toyooka offers students the opportunity to witness what can happen when an entire community comes together with a shared purpose: protecting biodiversity and restoring balance between humans and nature.
At the center of this story is the Oriental White Stork, a bird once declared extinct in Japan. Decades ago, industrialization and modern agricultural practices dramatically altered the local ecosystem. The use of pesticides reduced the biodiversity of the wetlands and rice fields that once sustained the storks, eventually leading to their disappearance from the region. But rather than accept the loss, the people of Toyooka chose a different path.
The city rallied around a collective mission to bring the stork back.
Farmers, conservationists, local government officials, schools, and community members worked together to rethink how they interacted with the land. Traditional farming practices were revived, pesticide use was reduced, and wetlands were restored in an effort to create an environment where not only the storks but entire ecosystems could thrive again. The return of the stork became a symbol of what is possible when biodiversity becomes a shared community responsibility rather than an individual concern.
This commitment to ecological stewardship is one of the key reasons NIS continues to bring students to Toyooka year after year.
The Grade 5 trip is deeply connected to the International Baccalaureate Unit of Inquiry “Sharing the Planet,” but what makes the experience so powerful is that students are not simply learning concepts in a classroom. They are participating in them. Through service learning opportunities, students engage directly with the local community while exploring science, sustainability, and concepts of endogenous development — the idea that sustainable change grows from within a community itself, shaped by local knowledge, culture, and values.
Whether planting rice seedlings by hand in muddy paddies, learning how biodiversity supports healthy ecosystems, or experiencing traditional food preparation methods such as making mochi, students begin to understand the interconnectedness between people, culture, agriculture, and the environment. They see firsthand how local action can have lasting ecological impact.
The trip also teaches students that conservation is not the work of a single person or organization. The revival of the stork population only became possible because an entire community committed itself to a common goal. In many ways, Toyooka stands as a living example of collaboration in action — a reminder that environmental stewardship requires cooperation, patience, and long-term thinking.
For ten years, this partnership between NIS and Toyooka City has continued to evolve, providing students with meaningful opportunities to connect learning with action. The experience leaves students with more than memories of rural Japan; it leaves them with a deeper understanding of responsibility, service, and the role they can play in protecting the planet.
In a world increasingly shaped by environmental challenges, Toyooka’s story offers hope. It demonstrates that communities can restore what was once thought lost, and that education becomes most powerful when students are invited not only to study the world, but to actively care for it.