North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Nate <nrhora@gmail.com>]

July 11, 2006

Toyota Motor Corporation organized a team of about 100 people,
including volunteers from both Toyota affiliates in China and from TMC
in Japan, to take part this past weekend in a tree-planting effort in
China aimed at combating desertification.

The event, which took place in the Fengning Man Autonomous County of
China's Hebei Province (about 180 kilometers north of Beijing), was
part of the Sino-Japanese Joint "21st Century Greater Beijing
Reforestation Model" Initiative established in April 2001 by the
Chinese Academy of Sciences' China-Japan Scientific Technology &
Economic Exchange Association, the Hebei Province Forestry Bureau, the
Tokyo-based NPO Green Earth Center and TMC to combat desertification
in China.

TMC Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita, who was among the 20
volunteers from TMC, said in a kickoff speech that the undertaking
would contribute to improving China's environment, as well as serve as
a means of interaction between TMC employees in Japan and China.

"It is my hope that the bonds of friendship between Chinese and
Japanese employees will deepen, their volunteer spirit will be
enriched and that each sapling planted in China's soil will take root
and help to improve the environment," Kinoshita said.

Since its inception, the 21st Century Greater Beijing Reforestation
Model has supported both the livelihood of local citizens and
environmental protection through environmental restoration monitoring,
medical plant and fruit tree cultivation, pasture management and other
activities.

Although volunteers from the NPO Green Earth Center and TMC's
affiliated companies in China have carried out reforestation efforts
every year, this was the first time for volunteers to travel from TMC
in Japan to take part.

Toyota has for some time now been broadening the scope of its
philanthropic activities throughout the world. In China, these
activities include the Toyota Environmental Protection Aid Program for
China's Youth and the creation of a research center in collaboration
with Tsinghua University. Toyota aims to be a good corporate citizen
and plans to continue contributing to Chinese society, through
activities that focus on the themes of environmental protection,
traffic safety and human resources development.

***It's good to know that there are good corporate entitys out there
that encourage the replantation of forests around the world, with
their alliances they will help rebuild the world***