Clive Williams Nicol is not afraid to be called a "tree-hugger." To him, nothing seemed more urgent than saving trees from the slash of an axe.
"My grandmother is an old style Celt, who believes that you can get spirit power from trees when you hold the tree," he said.
"The trees have energy and healing power," he said.
So when Nicol heard that the Japanese government was planning to remove trees in Kurohime Heights to build roads, he approached them with a rather interesting offer.
"Please sell me a hundred trees in the forest," he told a government official. "That way you will not have to cut down those trees and they [will be] able to stay here forever."
"No way," said the official, shaking his head.
The answer failed to deter Nicol. Rather than continue negotiating with the Japanese government, he figured out that the best way to preserve the trees would be to buy the entire forest.
Since 1985, through his savings and money he has made selling books and appearing on Japanese TV shows, Nicol has managed to buy woodlands piece by piece from corporations and government alike.
"Not one single dime I spent buying the lands came from the Japanese government," Nicol said.
Nicol now uses the lands he purchased to conduct research on plants and animals.
Summer camps will also be held in the forest for children suffering from disabilities and those who suffered traumatic experiences in childhood.
He also turned the project into a book with the title The Diary of Kurohime Heights, now available in Chinese.
In fluent Japanese, Nicol recounted his story of purchasing a forest to participants at a question and answer session yesterday at the Taiwan International Book Exhibition.
Born in South Wales, Britain, Nicol embarked on several expeditions to the Arctic Circle from the age of 17.
He was inspired to do so by a movie directed by a Norwegian explorer.
Nicol has also been active in restoring forests in the national parks of Ethiopia.
His efforts only achieved minimal success, however, as warlords later took away surrounding lands by force and did great damage to the lands.
A prolific writer, Nicol has published several books on environmental issues.
One of Nicol's books, The Boy Who Saw the Wind, was turned into an animation movie and was recognized as the Best Animation Film at the 45th Asia Pacific Film Festival.
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