"A Message from Life at the Edge of the Sea," a English-translated version of our pamphlet, was just published.

A Message from Life at the Edge of the Sea

Nature Is Recovering Along the Sendai Coast, the Place We Call Home

Translator’s Message

When I visited Sendai City in 2016, I was struck by the vibrant recovery in progress of an interconnected patchwork of sandy beach, dune, coastal forest, and wetland habitats at the Minami-Gamou Ecotone Monitoring Site. A new 7.2 meter high seawall blocked connectivity to the sea, and inland of the wall, recovering forest and wetlands had been buried by a 3.2-meter high by 200-meter wide mound of highly compacted soil for a coastal defense plantation project. But here, at what remained of the research site, one could witness the natural recovery of the landscape after the great tsunami of March 11, 2011. The Minami-Gamou Ecotone Monitoring Site and nearby Gamou and Idoura Tidal Flats provide an opportunity for the public to learn how ecosystems may be affected by great disturbances and how ecological memory can help ecosystem recovery. Since late 2011 the Monitoring Network has produced scientific papers and outreach materials and has conducted a variety of outreach activities for the general public. The Network is partnering with local citizens, in the hope that a better understanding of coastal ecology will contribute to a deeper sense of place and foster new visions for the future.

Karen Colligan-Taylor, Ph.D.

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Karen Colligan-Taylorさんのご支援をいただいて，海辺のいのちのメッセージの英語版が完成しました．ぜひご覧ください．