A SPACE TRIP FOR 5TH GRADERS AT KAWAGUCHI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

JFS Newsletter No.13 (September 2003)
"Report on Environmental Education" Article Series No.2

The Kawaguchi Citizens Environmental Council (represented by Ms. Rie Asaba), is a non-profit organization in Kawaguchi City in Saitama Prefecture, just northwest of Tokyo. They hold an annual Eco-Life Day to encourage all citizens to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, a major cause of global warming. The NPO calls on citizens to spend the day taking into account their activities that may have an environmental impact. The results are checked by filling out an environmental housekeeping booklet. KEC collects and compiles the data to calculate the effects on the environment. The booklet is available at major supermarkets, community centers, libraries, the city hall, and elementary, junior high, and senior high schools in Kawaguchi. Strong student participation has drawn entire families into participating with Eco-Life Day, making it one of the biggest events in Kawaguchi City.

The one-day housekeeping book provides about twenty entries by which families can track their environmental burden. For example, if you dont buy a drink in a plastic bottle, you can cut 87 g of carbon dioxide emissions. If you don't overuse shampoo and kitchen detergent, bring your own shopping bag and refuse a plastic bag at stores, don't use a car and instead walk or take public transportation, you can reduce CO2 emissions by 121g, 48g, and 830g respectively, they say.

This year was the fourth annual Eco-Life Day, with the participation of over 28,000 people. High school students and children attending an abacus school volunteered to calculate the data during the summer vacation.

In 2002, 11,744 people took part in the Eco-Life Day and cut CO2 emissions by 1,366,788 grams in one day. Their efforts on that one day alone saved about 2.7 oil drums of petroleum, which is equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by 98 trees in a year (calculation based on a 50 year-old cedar tree with 26 cm in diameter and 22 m of height).

The Kawaguchi Citizens Environmental Council is hopeful that all citizens will look back on their activities on this day, and realize the impacts that their day-to-day choices and purchasing decisions have on the environment. They hope that Eco-Life Day will encourage green consumers to choose environmentally friendly goods. In order to spread the message of Eco-Life Day, the NPO also offers environmental education at local schools.

In June, I joined the NPO's class at Kawaguchi Iizuka Elementary School, which was held as part of a general studies class. Four volunteers instructed the class of some 30 students.

In the first half of the class, the students were given an assignment to make a list of items they would need to bring on a spaceship that would be taking a fifty-year trip. They were divided into groups of 5 or 6 students, who jointly wrote down the items on a large paper for presentation. Students were excited about the idea of going on a space trip. Fifty years from now? We'll be 61 years old!

It was a very hot, humid day. Cold drinks in a plastic bottles became the top items on the list. Some groups included ice and a swimming pool in a desperate bid to cool off. Food and water for 50 years, snacks, TVs, games, space clothes, trash cans, various animals. A group of diligent students also listed study tools! Each group had its unique answers.

The instructors asked, How are you going to keep water and food? What about garbage and a power source? Their aim was to get the students to consider the cycle of resources. To my surprise, a number of students did not know that water could go bad and took it for granted that water was always fresh. Many students were for the idea of preparing a gigantic refrigerator, discarding garbage directly into space, building a huge incinerator, and brining massive amounts of batteries.

Naturally, the spaceship was a metaphor for the Earth and the question raised was can we continue to live as if our spaceship has infinite replenishable resources? As the discussion heated up, the students started to realize that maybe humans were responsible for causing ozone depletion.

Next, we watched a video titled "The Earth in 30 Years," which predicts that problems we are facing today are only going to become worse. These included resource depletion, worsening global warming and expanding gaps between the rich and the poor, which all stem from massive population growth and human activities. The students were watching the video seriously without a word, and a sense of crisis seemed to be growing in their minds.

In the latter part of the class, an instructor read out a speech by Ms. Severn Suzuki who spoke at the 1992 Earth Summit of world leaders in Rio de Janeiro. The then-12-year-old girl appealed to the adults at the Summit: 'You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it. You grown ups say you love us. I challenge you, please, make your actions reflect your words.' The students were moved that a girl almost the same age as themselves was thinking about her own future as well as that of everyone in the world.

At the end of the class, the students wrote reports in which many voluntarily set their own goals. They included turning off lights when they're not needed, being careful not to waste water, wearing warmer clothes in cold days and dressing lightly on hot days, opening windows when going to sleep in summer, not wasting school lunch, reducing and recycling garbage, avoiding purchases of goods that generate much garbage, etc. Many students were encouraged to take action and start doing what they could to preserve the environment.

One student commented that he liked nature and didn't like to see water being polluted and forests being cut down. Another student wrote that we humans cannot live without the Earth and other living creatures, and that he wanted a better future. The students have realized that if adults and children work together, we can improve the global environment. They wanted to know more about the environment and asked for more classes on environmental issues.

Today, we often hear of the importance of collaboration in the field of environmental education. Making use of their knowledge and expertise, some local NPOs and non-governmental organizations are offering classes at schools, raising questions for students, making them wonder, and helping them become aware of the environment of which they are a part. I believe this experience demonstrated the significance of the collaboration between schools and local citizens' groups. Translating the children's awareness and enjoyment into practical action will be the next important step.

(Staff writer Ayako Takahashi)