Local Wisdom-based Environmental Education through Kikigaki Method: Japan Experience and Lesson for Indonesia

Abstract

Environmental education become very important today because beside as an effort to preserve natural environment, as well as the efforts to save local wisdom and culture related to environmental preservation. Environmental education is not only can be done through formal learning at school as well as the extension and training, but also through a social approach by learn the existing local wisdom that had proven capable of maintain and preserve the environment from generation to generation. A techniques also began to be developed in Japan, called kikigaki, to pass down the knowledge of environmental conservation from the older generation to the younger generation. Kikigaki literally means listen and write. This method also began to be developed in several places in Indonesia. It gives opportunity for the younger generation to learn the history of the actors or meijin during their life or work which are close to environment. Kikigaki covers two functions, as natural environment preservation, and also human and environmental history and the culture of enclosing them. Therefore local wisdom-based environmental education through kikigaki becomes necessary to be developed in Indonesia since it has opportunities for enriched with the experience and culture in Indonesia.