Carefully clearing away cigarette butts and candy wrappers. Their curiosity aroused, passers-by often strike up a conversation. Left: Braving cloudy skies after a rain, almost 40 people gathered for the November cleanup day. Below: All the litter collected during the hour is piled in a single location. By prior arrangement, a pick-up crew from the city collects the trash soon afterwards.Yoshiko InaiBorn in Japan in 1975, she lived in Algeria from ages 0-2, and then in France from ages 8-17. Attending college in Japan, she studied comparative culture. After working for six years in a Japanese company, she went to France in 2004. Having participated in Green Bird events since 2009, she has served as leader of the Paris team since 2013. 25someone paying you?’ But when I explain that we’re volunteers, they respond favorably.” She continues, “People litter every day, so picking up once a month is not going to keep the streets clean. The goal of our activity is not to keep the streets clean.” Clean streets create positive feelings, but littering is shameful. As that attitude becomes more widespread, people will gradually change their behavior. This is what Inai hopes will change the streets. As a way of spreading this attitude, the volunteers are like a mirror. And that, Inai feels, is the significance of what Green Bird is doing. Ten years ago, most participants were Japanese, but now most are non-Japanese. The number has grown over the years, and now 50 volunteers are not unusual. “It’s satisfying that more people are volunteering, but there is less horizontal connection between the participants,” says Inai. There’s always one more thing to worry about. “I would like to foster the kind of communication that gets people ready to become leaders themselves.” surrounding Inquiries countries are directed towards the Paris team, and with input from her, the Green Bird movement has spread to the German city of Stuttgart, to Cameroon and, under the name “Action Casa” to Morocco. “The vigor of the Paris team helps spread the movement to other European and Francophone nations, and it’s fun to watch.” Ten years after the Japan-born movement established itself in Paris, it has spread its wings to the surrounding countries. from
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