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The Kikuchi Seminar of Department of International Economy provided organic fertilizer free of charge to the Edible & Flower Garden in Tama Central Park.Hachioji Campus

On Sunday, November 23, 2025, the seminar of Professor Tadashi Kikuchi of Department of International Economy Faculty of Economics, provided organic fertilizer free of charge to the Edible and Flower Garden in Tama Central Park (Tama City, Tokyo).

Kikuchi's seminar focuses on the SDGs through the study of development economics. While emphasizing the principle of "starting with small things we can do," the seminar is working to upcycle everyday waste, adding new value to it. In 2023, in collaboration with Kawasaki-based Nihon Mikuniya Co., Ltd., a developer and manufacturer of equipment that converts food waste into fertilizer, the seminar began producing organic fertilizer using food waste and leftovers from two student cafeterias on Hachioji Campus. Producing organic fertilizer has made it possible to reduce the amount of waste itself. This year marks the third year of this initiative, and it has expanded beyond the seminar to include first-year students from Faculty of Economics, with the cooperation of faculty members from the Faculty Faculty of Liberal Arts and Faculty of Education, as well as faculty and staff, to create a collaborative learning environment for Japanese and international students.

To expand their activities from the campus to the local community, the Kikuchi seminar visited the Tama City Planning Division in July 2025 to report on their activities and was introduced to the Edible & Flower Garden in Tama Central Park, where citizen-participation gardening activities are carried out. At this event, students tilled the soil in the garden and spread the fertilizer they provided, and also worked with participating children and local volunteers to plant flower seedlings that will bloom this spring. Resource recycling efforts on campus led to local greening activities, providing students with a practical learning opportunity to experience the real world.

The Kikuchi seminar will continue to contribute to industry-academia collaboration and the creation of a sustainable society through collaboration both inside and outside the university.

For more information about Tama Central Park Edible & Flower Garden, click here
For more information about Nippon Mikuniya Co., Ltd., click here
For more information about Professor Tadashi Kikuchi of the Department of Department of International Economy Faculty of Economics, please click here.
For more information on Teikyo University's SDGs activities, click here

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