Engaging young children with the environment is key to conservation,
two Japanese women helping the Japan International Cooperation Agency
tell Zuhaila Sedek
BEING environmentally friendly shouldn’t be a trend; it is a cause, one
that requires passion. And to develop this passion, exposure has to
take place at a young age.
Tomoko Ichikawa and Ai Kinoshita from the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) truly believe this. Their childhood played an
integral part in their love for the environment.
Ichikawa is JICA wetland management and environmental education adviser
while Kinoshita is the agency volunteer. JICA helps developing
countries deal with global issues such as poverty and conserving the
environment.
Both Ichikawa and Kinoshita were present at the recent River Environment Education Programme (REEP) held in Tambunan, Sabah.
FIND THE LOVE FOR NATURE
It is all sun and sweat working outdoors but the pay-off is a better future.
Ichikawa,36, feels that people need a push to take notice of the environment.
“People do not care unless a tragedy affects them,” says Ichikawa
adding that this is the reason environmental awareness is necessary at a
young age.
Ichickawa remembers the rapid development Japan went through while she
was growing up. The rice fields she used to play in with her friends
when she was in primary school made way for a residential area.
“At that time, I already wondered what will happen to the children in
the future if all the rice fields were destroyed,” says Ichikawa.
Since young, she has been taught to care for the environment. Her
father loves plants and animals. Her mother comes from a farming family
so nature has always been close to her.
“We always had animals at home, be it dogs, birds, rabbits or fish. Sometimes, I caught insects and kept them at home too.
“Our family was not rich so we tried not to waste things, which meant
an environmentally-friendly life. My parents also grow vegetables on a
small scale.”
Tokyo-born Ichikawa studied Environmental Economics in England. And now
after 12 years as an environmentalist, her forte is conserving wetlands
to ensure the existence of shorebirds.
“Some shorebirds can fly for one week during migration. While migrating
(from Siberia to Australia), they use only their fat as energy. When I
was working in the Yatsu-higata tidal flat, a site at Tokyo bay, I saw a
thin shorebird sleeping soundly. When it woke up, it started to eat
voraciously. I realised that it may not have eaten for a few days.
“So, if there are no wetlands, they will have no place to rest after a
long migration and if the eco-system is unhealthy, shorebirds might not
even have food.”
Ichikawa helps the people of Tambunan look after their environment. She
ends her one year in September. In Tambunan, she works with Kinoshita, a
few agencies and the Sabah government to carry out projects such as
REEP.
“REEP allows me to reach out to the children and make them realise how
precious their environment is. But my approach is always something that
they can relate to and understand easily.” Storytelling and pictures are
among the techniques she uses when explaining to children about the
environment.
Ichikawa suggests parents spend more time with their children in the outdoors.
“My mother always told me the names of flowers and explained the seasons. Children learn from adults.”
EXPERIENCE THE OUTDOORS
Kinoshita’s parents are social workers dealing with people with special needs.
“I find joy in doing good things for others.” says Kinoshita who studied at Nihon Fukushi University.
When she was little, her parents always exposed her to the wonders of
nature. She often went camping in the jungle or near the sea.
“They took time to explain about nature to me. Over time, I developed
an understanding of nature and with it came appreciation. What I am
today is because of my upbringing,” says the 27-year-old from Yamaguchi.
“Children must know nature or else they will not care about it when
they are older,” adds Kinoshita who is based at the Crocker Range Park
office.
Before Sabah, she was posted to the Philippines. She learns the
language of her host country so she can communicate better with local
people and speaks very good Bahasa Malaysia.
Kinoshita feels that humans can’t run away from the responsibility of
looking after the environment because the two are connected in every
way.
“If the way people live is harming nature, destruction is inevitable.
We have to find a balance between caring for the environment and
enjoying our lives,” she says.
Kinoshita, who was posted to Malaysia in June 2010, will soon return to
Japan where she plans to apply what she has learnt in Sabah.
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