A Legacy of Water, a Model for the Future
Mishima City in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture was once celebrated as the “City of Water,” thanks to spring-fed rivers flowing directly from Mount Fuji. Over time, urbanisation and pollution put these waterways at risk. In response, Groundwork Mishima modelled on the UK’s Groundwork Trust emerged as a citizen-led, non-profit movement to restore and revitalise natural water landscapes.
Their approach is collaborative and inclusive: citizens, local government and private businesses all play a role in bringing rivers back to life.
The results are clear:
- Over 50% of Mishima’s riverside spaces have been successfully restored.
- Local firms provide not only financial backing but also staff volunteering hours, embedding environmental care into corporate responsibility.
- The city’s reputation as a tourism and cultural hotspot has grown alongside its ecological renewal.
- This grassroots-to-global model has lessons for the West Midlands, where the social economy contributes £3.8 billion annually, employing more than 35,000 people, with a regional mission to double its size within ten years.
The Visit: A Day of Shared Learning
On 1st October 2025, Groundwork Mishima’s delegation will spend an afternoon in Birmingham, hosted by iSE, to explore the city’s social enterprise ecosystem and share insights from their work in Japan.
We’re planning a programme that showcases the best of Birmingham’s innovation and impact. This could include:
- A welcome at Better Pathways in Digbeth, where iSE’s Sylwia would share how the regional social economy is growing, including legacies from the Commonwealth Games investment in community spaces.
- Insights into mental health and employability support, alongside possible links with the Canal & River Trust, connecting Birmingham’s waterways with Mishima’s river restoration.
- Visits to creative and community-led spaces such as Eastside Projects and Oval Real Estate, showing how arts, culture and development can embed social value.
Wherever we go, the aim is the same: to highlight how public, private and non-profit sectors can come together to build healthier, greener and more inclusive cities.
Lessons for Birmingham
Groundwork Mishima has shown that businesses can be impactful allies in social and environmental progress. By contributing expertise, investment and volunteering, they strengthen community resilience while building their own reputations as responsible employers.
For Birmingham, where iSE champions social enterprise and cross-sector collaboration, the visit offers a chance to explore:
- How local private companies can deepen their engagement in social initiatives.
- What role environmental projects can play in building the future of the West Midlands’ social economy.
- How international collaboration can gain fresh thinking about regeneration and social value.
Looking Ahead
The challenges facing Mishima and Birmingham may differ, but the principles are the same: communities thrive when people, business and government work together.
As climate change and urbanisation continue to influence our cities, this exchange is a reminder that solutions don’t stop at borders. With social enterprises in the UK contributing £60 billion annually to the economy and Groundwork Mishima proving the power of grassroots action in Japan, partnerships like these will be central to creating sustainable, inclusive futures.
At iSE, we believe this visit is more than a cultural exchange…it’s an opportunity to strengthen a global movement where environmental care and social value go hand in hand.