The volunteers gathered at Head Office early in the morning where they were welcomed by the CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, Tadashi Arashima. Mr Arashima thanked the TME staff members and their families for collaborating on the project which will help their local community.
A presentation by Maarten Sper from the Vlaamse Landmaatschappij (www.vlm.be) followed. Sper outlined the current and future plans for cycling and walking trails in the neighbourhood of Toyota’s facilities in Brussels. Mr Sper also noted Toyota’s pioneering role in cooperating with local governments on this type of project.
Following the presentations, Mr Arashima planted the first tree. He was accompanied by Mr Ochiai (Executive Vice President R&D) and Mr Katsumata (Vice President R&D). The volunteers then moved to the three different sites where work was taking place.
The group with children stayed at Head Office and planted around 2,500 shrubs. The second group walked to the Zaventemsebaan where they planted some 1,000 shrubs. The final group followed, clearing the route of rubbish. This group made their way to Grote Kloosterstraat, a sunken road which was the site of the pilot project in 2009. Over 350 new shrubs were planted by this group.
The logistics and support for the planting was provided by ECONET, a non-profit social employer. ECONET specialises in maintaining the natural environment of open spaces that surround urban conglomerations.
Just before noon the volunteers returned to Head Office where they enjoyed a complementary lunch with their families and colleagues.
TME would like to add its thanks to all of the volunteers and their families who are helping to make the Toyota Greenway a possibility. TME would also like to thank the Municipality of Zaventem, ECONET and VLM for their ongoing support of the project.
Further information
For more information about the Toyota Greenway and the 2009 event, please visit: www.toyotafund.eu/Local_Projects/Environment/toyota_greenways.aspx
