Toyota Motor Czech Volunteer Day: Working for local schools

Friday 26 September 2008 saw 58 staff from Toyota Motor Czech spending the day revitalise the gardens of two schools in the local area. President of the company, Mr Otsubo, also joined in the activities. The day was organised in conjunction with the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation and the DIVIZNA Centre for Environmental Education.

The two schools that welcomed the volunteers were the Na Perstyne basic school and the Jablonecka specialist high school, both located in the city of Liberec where TMCZ has its headquarters. The schools were selected from the 25 schools that have been part of the 2008 edition of the School for Sustainable Development programme. Schools for Sustainable Development is a project funded by the Toyota Fund for Europe and, in the Czech Republic, by TMCZ.

At Jablonecka high school, volunteers helped to create an arboretum in an unused part of the school garden. The garden is open to the public and is especially popular with mothers and their children. The garden was also weeded and cleaned. The Toyota employees created a new layout for autumn planting and brought new soil into the site.

At Na Perstyne volunteers worked to clear the school garden of weeds, clear a safety zone around the playground, paint fences and garden sheds, and lay down a geotextile path around the school building. The aim was to create a pleasant space that could be utilised more often by the students and by local clubs.

Students at Na Perstyne also took part in an English lesson with Mr Otsubo. They used the opportunity to ask him a number of questions about his career.