On the day of a clean campus campaign in spring 2019 (May 22), students studying contemporary society and volunteer activities, members of G-amet (a club engaged in conservation), students from Associate Professor Kengo Ito's laboratory (Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences) and staff from the Facility and Environmental Affairs Department cleaned Maruike pond. The pond is one of the symbols of Gifu University.

People first drained the water and captured living organisms with nets. Because the pond was used for biotope (biological community) in the past, they found rice fish, etc. thriving in the pond.

After drained the water, the participants started to scrape away algae from the bottom and around the pond with scrub brushes and squeegees.

When the cleaning was over, Associate Professor Ito gave a short lecture on the living organisms in the pond and dealing with invasive alien species. Gifu University declared itself "Environmental University" in November 2009. Against this backdrop, he underscored the importance of learning the history and background of organisms and species to inspire individuals to become more aware of the environment, particularly in regard to the compatibility between clean water we, humans pursue, and the sustainable spaces that living creatures need to survive.