Elementary School Works with Families and Community to Conserve Energy

Kuzumaki Elementary School in Kuzumaki Town, Iwate Prefecture, has worked to conserve energy together with students' families and the local community for three years.

The town, with a population of about 9,000, is located in a rural area of northeastern Japan. As 86 percent of its area is forest land, its main industries are dairy farming and forestry. For several years the town has been promoting a revitalization project with the theme of "harmonious coexistence of nature and human beings," and is developing clean energy using local resources. For example, it has constructed wind, solar and biomass power generation facilities and installed wood pellet boilers in municipal facilities.

Under these circumstances, the elementary school has also been working to save energy. The school teaches about local clean energy resources in class, and checks electricity consumption with an "Energy Saving Navi," a device that indicates the amount and cost of electricity use in real-time. There is a display space at the school to put up educational materials related to energy conservation activities. The school is now expanding these activities to the children's families by suggesting that "Energy Saving Navi" devices be installed for each household.

The school's sixth graders have formed an energy conservation group, called "Eco-ing Kuzumaki" They explain global warming issues and describe their activities to other school children. The school's efforts are contributing to higher energy-saving awareness for the whole town.




Posted: 2004/07/20 12:27:21 PM
Japanese version