Abstract
The University of Tsukuba's Agricultural and Forestry Research Center (AFRC) is hosting the UNESCO-APEID International Symposium on Agricultural Education for Sustainable Development (Ag-ESD) from 2008 to 2013 to contribute an agricultural viewpoint to the United Nations “Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.” The goals of this activity are to promote the development of an energy and environmental education model suitable for use in developing countries by taking advantage of the knowledge and experience gained through the comprehensive programs of the University of Tsukuba's Senior High School at Sakado (UTSS).
In 2008, we selected Bogor Agricultural University's Kornita Senior High School in Indonesia to cooperate with UTSS on developing an energy and environmental education model. We focused on bamboo, a common native material with deep roots in the country's culture, and developed courses based on the concrete results produced by the comprehensive programs at UTSS. During our first visit, we implemented the educational cooperation model, and developed a shared understanding of bamboo as a material for energy and environmental education. During our second visit, we presented a draft education curriculum and lecture contents, then provided a model lecture that introduced the multiple functions of bamboo, and demonstrated charcoal production and use. We created English teaching materials that combined an instructional objective with a lesson plan that combined theory from multiple scientific disciplines with hands-on experience applying this knowledge. By reviewing a native material using the approach used in the comprehensive programs at UTSS, this activity promises to develop an excellent, unique, energy and environmental education model to promote sustainable development based on the utilization of an alternative biomass material while simultaneously promoting environmental preservation.
