Embassy Tokyo Breaks Ground: Community Garden in the World's Largest Metropolis

April 22 - Although Tokyo is the world's largest city, it's easy to find green spaces throughout this metropolis, and the Embassy Green Team and Facility Management teamed up to add a further green space on Earth Day with a community garden project.

Ms. Susie Roos broke the ground on the first of 10 garden plots on the Embassy housing compound for individuals or groups to grow produce, flowers, herbs, and plants. Community Gardens have been a popular part of urban landscapes in American cities for decades. They boost environmental awareness, agricultural sustainability, and community development. Facility Management will take this greening project one step further by providing compost for the garden from grass clippings from around the compound.

Now in its 43rd year, Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22 and is viewed as the anniversary of the birth of the modern U.S. environmental movement. Former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin founded Earth Day to insert environmental issues into the national agenda. Denis Hayes, the national organizer of Earth Day 1970, later co-founded the Earth Day Network (EDN) to coordinate both domestic and international Earth Day events.

Climate change is a top priority for the second term Obama administration, as well as a personal priority of Secretary of State John Kerry. The U.S. has made substantial progress in reducing emissions in recent years, and we are taking additional strong executive action to address major polluting sources.