Many people who obtain their qualifications spend their holidays away from their main job volunteering for forest-related activities. Local governments, schools, nature groups, and others request instructors to guide nature walks to teach people about flora and fauna, instruct woodwork classes, or lead study groups.

One Tokyo businessman took advantage of his retirement to try his hand at the forestry instructor exam. Passing on his second attempt, he was appointed as a guide in a Tokyo prefectural forest park located in the western mountainous region. Four or five times a month, at an easy pace friendly even to parents with young children, he gives instruction in hiking, woodwork, the upkeep of hillsides and timber stands, and other outdoor activities.

Forests in Japan cover approximately 25 million hectares, occupying about 67% of Japan's total land area. With only 27% of the planet's land forested, Japan is disproportionately blessed with this abundant natural environment, which produces oxygen, helps preserve watersheds, and prevents dangerous landslides, contributing in many vital ways to Japan's well-being. The Agriculture Ministry calculates Japan's forests to have an annual economic worth of 39 trillion yen (29 billion U.S. dollars at 135 yen to the dollar). "I tell people these kinds of things, too, trying to get them to understand the importance of forests," says the Tokyo instructor, letting his enthusiasm speak for itself.

More Women and Young People
As of January 1998, a total of 670 people had obtained their forestry instructor licenses, 112 of whom were women. In the past, most licenses went to civil servants and forestry-related personnel who were required to obtain the professional certification. Recently, however, a growing number of the general public, particularly women and young people, have been entering the ranks, reflecting a heightened concern over environmental issues.

A male student at an agricultural university in Tokyo says, "At school we only learn theory. But in the field-study classes I participated in to prepare for the forestry instructor's exam, we talked about charcoal making and other aspects of life and wisdom in the forest handed down through generations. It really gave me a sense of the importance of nature. Now, as a new instructor, I want to share the joy of encountering nature with everyone I can."

"My hobby of flower-arranging grew into a interest for all of nature," says a similarly minded 30-year-old woman living in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, "and that led to a forestry instructor's license." Recently employed as a botany instructor at a local middle school, this young woman says, "I want to start by telling people how wonderful nature is."

The Japan Forest Recreation Association, in charge of giving the forestry instructor qualification exams on behalf of the Agriculture Ministry, has been inundated lately with requests from municipal governments looking to hire instructors. With the season of trees and flowers upon us, it seems that forestry instructors will have their hands full.