Abstract
This report describes development of an environmental learning program in Yamanashi Prefecture. A salient feature of this program is that it uses intelligent teaching materials related to local energy data and local environmental policies. In November 2010, a course of a total of three school hours of instruction was held for 58 schoolchildren in late elementary grades. The lesson title was “Carbon Dioxide Zero Yamanashi”. The long term goal was to make the amount of carbon dioxide emissions zero by 2050. The relation between energy and daily life must be acknowledged to understand a low-carbon society through experiential study and slide study. Results showed that the schoolchildren’s environmental awareness increased, as evidenced by comparison of responses obtained before and after a trail lesson. The teachers in charge received good evaluation for a story that brought worldwide scale problems to a more familiar scale. A booklet version and rough mapping of the Yamanashi environmental program, which were created based on verification of a trial lesson, were distributed to all the elementary schools in Yamanashi in March 2011. All the data were posted on the Yamanashi Prefecture web site. Expansion of environmental learning programs is necessary to create a sustainable society.
