Restoring Maple Beach: a volunteer-led project in Shinjuku

Maple Beach has been used as an informal dump for years. This August, 106 neighbors turned up for a first cleanup, filling 174 bags in a single morning. Now we want to restore it for good. We have a plan agreed with the city parks department, including native species selected by a local botanist. The area floods more each year, and fish have returned for the first time in a decade after our first cleanup. Restoring it will protect homes and bring back shade. All the labor is volunteered. We just need materials. We'll post planting day photos and a count of every sapling planted. Where the $1,700 goes: • Native saplings and stakes: $500 • Tools and protective gear: $420 • Waste removal and skip hire: $580 • Signage and educational materials: $200 Please ask me anything in the questions section. I'll answer honestly and quickly.