Introduction
Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, the international framework aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2020, will require a change in people’s behavior and greater international cooperation.
At Nagoya Sangyo University, teaching staff and students organized an environmental education research project. Since 2003, across two decades, the project team has investigated CO₂ concentrations in local areas, and visualized the effects of carbon absorption and emission sources. With this survey outcomes, we have worked on the development of teaching materials and the implementation of environmental education to encourage action for the creation of decarbonized communities.
In recent years, we have been promoting initiatives aimed at the dissemination of studies on afforestation with high CO₂ absorption capacity. In FY2021, our project was selected as an EDU-Port Japan Supported Project, and we embarked on the systematic support for afforestation studies in Vietnamese school education. The following is an overview of how the project is coming along.
Background to the project, and its purpose
In Vietnam, there are concerns, particularly in and around the Mekong Delta, regarding the severe impact of rising sea level due to climate change. For this reason, a large-scale tree-planting project is under way as a measure to combat climate change.
The aim of our project is to provide systematic support for afforestation studies, working with elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools in Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam. Specifically, in elementary and lower secondary schools, we provide support to carry out plant photosynthesis experiments (Photo 1) with CO₂ sensors. In upper secondary schools, as an advanced programme on photosynthesis, we provide support for studies on afforestation with high CO₂ absorption capacity. We also aim to contribute to promoting mutual understanding and fostering global citizenship through school-to-school student interaction by supporting international exchange learning between Japan and Vietnam.
Photo 1: Plant photosynthesis experiment
Initiatives in FY2021
In FY2021, in collaboration with Takada Senior High School (Tsu City, Mie Prefecture) and other schools, we created multilingual lesson plans and audio-visual teaching materials that introduce plant photosynthesis experiments (Photo 2). We also provided support to our counterpart in Vietnam, Taipei School in Ho Chi Min City (Primary and Secondary education curriculum), to conduct an online lesson targeting 34 students with use of the audio-visual materials (Photo 3). The lesson was conducted after the provision of measuring equipment such as CO₂ sensors, and opinion exchange among teachers through online meeting. In addition, in light of the spread of Covid-19 infection in Vietnam, we also provided support for classroom ventilation, using CO₂ sensors.
Photo 2: Audio-visual materials in Vietnamese language
Photo 3: Online lesson
Initiatives in FY2022
Takada Senior High School provides support in carrying out plant photosynthesis experiments for local elementary and lower secondary schools with use of audio-visual materials made by students (Photo 4). Similarly, Taipei School in Ho Chi Min City is currently preparing to carry out a survey on the topic of ‘Waste incineration and CO₂ emissions’, and is planning to include the results in audio-visual materials in order to use for learning support in two lower secondary schools in Ho Chi Min City. From here on, we will plan to support for collaborative learning of students between Takada Senior High School and Taipei School in Ho Chi Min City.
Photo 4: Upper secondary school students providing support in environmental learning (Takada Senior High School)
Future prospects
Based on our initiatives in Vietnam in FY2021, starting from 2022, we are embarking on initiatives to promote studies on afforestation in six upper secondary schools in Keelung City, Hsinchu City, Miaoli County , Taichung City, Kaohsiung City and Yilan City with the cooperation of the Department of Education, Science and Culture of the Executive Yuan, Republic of China (Taiwan). Furthermore, preparations are going ahead to carry out studies on afforestation in Jakarta City, Indonesia too.
As a next step, we will provide support for studies on afforestation to upper secondary schools in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia, and will work to form a global partnership through interaction among the schools. In addition, we will push forward with the creation of a mechanism to disseminate the studies on afforestation to neighboring elementary and lower secondary schools, placing upper secondary schools in the center of the mechanism. Furthermore, in the future, we aim to introduce and disseminate studies on afforestation in the countries and regions that place importance on the conservation and utilization of forestry resources as a measure to combat climate change.
