Delicacy of Snow

Our last Hokkaido ESD adventure took place at Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo Campus, renowned for its agriculture department. After a very brief tour, Professor Eriko Furumura presented her work on the combined effort of community and the University on promoting ESD. One of her projects was titled “ the Cool of Snow Makes Delicacy” - we are not sure if the title got lost in translation, but the idea is that winter ice is harvested and stored under an insolation of compost. The coolness and moisture provided by the slow melting of the ice is used to grow exceptionally delicious shitake mushrooms. The use of winter ice for food preservation, has been used by our ancestors and this technology has been re-discovered and promoted by Professor Kobiyma and put to use to satisfy our agricultural and energy needs. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/insider/trenches/mikesblog/energy-conservation-from-snow-in-the-summertime-only-in-hokkaido