Symposium
We had a symposium with the theme of “common” on the last class. My group “grassroots” discussed the topic of the grassroots movements for young generation. We picked up Scotts Miracle-Gro, a foundation that provides green places and garden for children. According to NSR newswire, “Today’s youth spend less time outdoors than any other generation.” This situation gives rise to children’s social, mental and physical health problems. SMG foundation emphasis on supporting community-driven garden and green space projects that directly engage youth in order to deal with these problems. It is said that outdoor playing and gardening leads increased consumption of vegetables, increased emotional well-being and better academic performance. Education also plays a significant role in sustainable society. We came up with an SDGs+1, cultivate awareness, which means grass roots education should foster people’s awareness towards what is going on in the world and cultivate mindful future generation with good mindsets. People should be more aware and conscious about the importance of nature and the problems that we face today. I hope this kind of projects prevail thorough not only community but also nationwide.
Ecological ethics
Promoting a sense of shared responsibility is crucial in order to maintain sustainable environment. Each person has to understand and continue to take care of the environment. It is time we all start taking larger steps towards environmental protection and sustainability. Takahata field trip gave me some valuable insight to further understand sustainable agriculture. I learned that people in Takahata has been making full efforts to make it sustainable so that the knowledge of organic farming can be passed on to the next generation. In conclusion, it is essential for everyone to take responsibility for changing today’s situation. We should spread knowledge and awareness that we learned in this class so that we would be able to achieve sustainable society. I’m really glad that I had great opportunities to think deeply about sustainable society and environmental problems and share ideas with other students.
Yuka Shimizu