BAGUIO CITY — Four experts from the Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR-Singapore) conducted a Training on the Japanese Aesthetic Art of Bonsai Cultivation from December 3 to 7, 2018, at the Diplomat Hotel, Dominican-Mirador barangay, spearheaded by the city environment parks and management office (CEPMO).
The experts were presented during City Hall flag-raising rites Monday before local officials and employees headed by Congressman Mark Go and Mayor Domogan . They are Hideki Morita, a specialist from Chiba Prefecture; Risa Tanaka, senior deputy director of CLAIR-Singapore; Makiha Kurata, deputy director, CLAIR-Singapore; and Gueh Yuyuan, CLAIR-Singapore researcher.
CEPMO chief Ruben Cervantes said the four-day activity’s specific objectives include the training of CEPMO personnel involved in forestry conservation and landscaping by the Japanese specialists on bonsai art cultivation and be able to apply and replicate the acquired skills at the city’s nurseries.
“We are hoping to be able to produce bonsai trees at the city’s nurseries for future landscaping materials enhancement in city parks, street islands, buildings and other potential areas for aesthetic purposes,” he explained.
Cervantes added that the training also aims to impart knowledge on how to produce tiny versions of full grown pine trees for future display at the city museum.
“Thru the training, we will be able to learn and inculcate the Japanese way of expressing their sense of what is beautiful and their deep love of nature,” he stressed.
The Japanese visitors were also given a tour of the city including a visit to its forestry nurseries, botanical garden, Japanese garden, pine tree sites, and the Filipino-Japanese Abong Foundation that provided translators for the group during the duration of their stay. A briefing on the city’s current situation was also given by the city tourism office.**gaby keith
