An overview of the research work on Prof. Saijo including projects on cross-curriculum environmental education programs and on sustainable bamboo utilization

Abstract

Industrialisation in Japan has seen the country become increasingly urbanised. This has led to a level of disconnection from the countryside among Japanese people and nature has been affected by a lack of human interaction. Previously, satoyama, which refers to the area between the mountains and arable land and has come to represent humankind's interaction with the natural world, could be used to describe the interaction between Japanese people and nature. Bamboo is one natural material that was widely used by Japanese people in many applications, including as food and building materials. But, with the increase in urbanisation came a decline in the use of bamboo in Japan. As a result, bamboo trees and forests expanded across satoyama lands and their rapid expansion into different ecosystems led to the destruction of non-bamboo ecosystems. Professor Kiyoshi Saijo, Faculty of Education, Miyagi University of Education, Japan, is creating curricula to educate Japanese society on the importance of satoyama, and the need to use bamboo. Saijo has created educational programmes at both a university level and for primary school children that align with the aims of the UNs sustainable development goals, including the case study of the Tanabata festival, which features the use of bamboo in several different ways.