Logan Phillips (Nagano)
I grew up in a small country-side town in Western New York where the cows outnumbered the people and I was almost always outside. My backyard was a forest and so were most of my friend’s backyards. When it was time for dinner our moms would yell as loud as they could and hope we could still hear them. Growing up so close to nature to me meant climbing trees, starting fires, accidentally hurting yourself, sleeping outside and trying and learning things without anyone telling you what to do. It was quite different than what kids in Japan are used to today. Despite moving to another smallcounty town, backyards here are nearly non-existent. The kids near me, however, still live very close to nature so they must still have a lot of chances to enjoy nature right? Well, that doesn’t seem to be the case because many of the kids here I met had little to no experience with it. Eventually, a friend introduced me to a group that he has been volunteering for where kids can not only experience nature but also learn about other cultures and try new things. Photos: Logan Phillips
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Kankan Shizenmura is a non-profit organization for children. A few times a month, children meet for an experience involving nature that they might not have an opportunity to do at home or in school, including talking to staff members from foreign countries. With Kankan, children work towards becoming
