This month’s Back to Nature Program was our forestry program in Takao. During the orientation, campers were split into teams, chose team names, and then headed straight into the forest. This month’s activity area was a spot where trees had recently been cut, leaving branches and leaves scattered across the ground. Our task was to build shigarami- woven barriers that help stabilize the forest floor. Campers worked together, gathering fallen branches and leaves, trimming larger branches with saws, and carefully assembling them into sturdy structures.

As always, the LITs played an essential role behind the scenes, demonstrating tasks during orientation, managing the lunches, and supporting the overall flow of the program. This time, several middle schoolers who are considering joining the LIT program in the future also participated, so we invited them to help as junior supporters. The LITs stepped up as leaders—explaining the tasks, assigning roles, and guiding these newer members who were still getting used to the supporting role. Watching the LITs teach and support others in tasks they had previously done only among themselves was a clear sign of their growth and leadership.

The LIT program is now entering its final stretch for the year. There are only two programs left with the campers: Christmas and the Snow Program. The LIT project has also started to come up in conversation, though concrete plans are still ahead of us. After spending more than half a year learning and growing together in this familiar environment, we’re looking forward to seeing what new challenges the LITs will take on next.