The planet we live on has a water cycle that gives birth to “living things,” and thus life as we know it, goes on. Japan is an island surrounded by seas, covered by forests, and connects with the sea through its deep rivers that give us long and diverse shorelines and riverbanks. The various waterfronts on which we humans live influence our lives, products, labor, learning, sports, and recreation; these in turn have a historic, social, and cultural influence on us.
  This study examines the relationships between water, waterfront, waterfront activities, outdoor education, and environmental education. There are various definitions and wide use words for water, waterfront, waterfront activities, outdoor education and environmental education. Therefore, this study attempts to present relevant subjects connected with waterfront, waterfront activities, outdoor education and environmental education through available research and the actual living conditions in foreign countries.
  The main result of this study shows that waterfront and waterfront activities in Japan have their own historical and cultural attributes and outdoor education and environmental education can provide significant information about them.
  Environmental education is interdisciplinary and is related to social issues (overpopulation, consumption of resources, utilization of energy etc.), cultural issues (progress of developing countries, excessive use of natural resources, contraception etc.) and economic issues (growth and development etc.).
  Figure 6 shows the main result of this study on waterfront activities in different waterfronts. Waterfronts, as the study shows, have a major and direct influence on nature, outdoor education and environmental education. It helps us to understand how water circulate through nature and earth as we continue to live with a sense of wonder and amazement about how river water connects the forest and villages and the seas.

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  While ‘place’ has been a center of attention in many disciplines, the Japanese words equivalent to the concept of ‘place’ is multi-faceted and controversial. This paper overviews the discussion around the concepts of ‘place’ in literature as well as Japanese terms which may translate as ‘place’ and ‘community’. The discourse around place-based education (PBE) is examined, and the 100-year history of the movement of the similar concept in Japan is outlined. It discusses the meaning of PBE in the context of globalization, and encourages Japanese practitioners and researchers in outdoor and environmental education to explore the perspectives of place as many ‘relationships’ linked to education for sustainability at the current time of high social, economic and environmental instability.

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  Nowadays, schools are trying to be open to local communities that have the potential to educate children using new learning approaches such as “Learning through Experience of Nature” (LEN), that can be linked with “community-building education” (CBE). In search for fundamental relationships existing among schools and local communities, the present study attempted to clarify the most important requirements for CBE through an in-depth analysis of “nature study” conducted at elementary and junior high schools in Ohisawa, Yamagata Prefecture. Started in 1951, this nature study program has been endogenously developed by teachers, children and local people in Ohisawa. The strategy of incorporating both endogenous education and scientific knowledge has not only enhanced children’s comprehensive learning achievements but also forged “nature to people”, “people to people”, and “local community to people” relationships. This case study reveals some important aspects of CBE, which nurtures endogenous development of schools and local communities as a whole.

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  The aim of this research is to reexamine Edo-period thought from the perspective of environmental thought, and to determine the degree to which this thought can potentially contribute to current environmental thought. I chose three Edo-period thinkers as the subjects of this study: Banzan Kumazawa, Baigan Ishida, and Shoeki Ando. I examine (1) the way of thinking of each and (2) what these three thinkers have in common and how they differ from one another, in order (3) to infer the structure of environmental thought in Edo-period thought, and, based on the findings, (4) to discuss what impact such thought might have on modern environmental education. The paper concludes with a comprehensive discussion of the verification of Banzan, Baigan, and Shoeki so as to shed light on the way in which elements of environmental thought were structured in Edo-period thought. All three thinkers were similar in that they espoused the thought “Tenchi Banbutsu Ittai” (unity of all things). It was made clear that worldviews that derive from this philosophical background are based on a holistic thought structure which places emphasis on the interconnection between all life forms and events, including humans, and are qualitatively different from anthropocentrism..

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  A course of lectures on the environment through many-sided approach for undergraduate students and another course for graduate students from Thailand were conducted and applied “ELF Environment Learning Process.” This Process has been proposed as a framework integrated ten programs for learning the environment. The questions on a few words, “nature, environment, environmental issues and hopes of topics” through a free association and the records of their impression on the course were asked of the students taking the courses before and after the classes.
  The answers including many words and text were processed by SPSS Text Analytics for Surveys. The undergraduate students recognized a word “nature” as to be such vast nature as forest, ocean, river and mountain, but these were not the familiar nature in their side. They recognized the two words “environment and environmental issues” as to be the same phenomena as global issues including acid rain, desertification, global warming and deforestation. Those issues are negative images for them. On the contrary the graduate students from Thailand recognized the words “nature and environment” as to be familiar and positive images, and only did the word “environmental issue” as to be negative. Because they changed their recognition, thought widely the environment, and added positive images after their attendances, the courses applied “ELF Environment Learning Process” were effective in understanding “environment” as a whole.

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  Geology and archeology are not generally integrated into environmental education. However, a few studies suggesting the usefulness of teaching geology as part of environmental education have been published since the 1970s. This study empirically examine how geology and archeology, especially field observations of these disciplines contribute to environmental education through data gathered on a study tour of the Kurosaki castle ruins located in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
  In this study tour, participants observed geological formations, relics, and remains with utter amazement. The tour seemed to be an emotional experience for them. Geological and archeological field observations allowed the participants to review the relationship between environment and human beings with a fresh perspective. This encouraged them to think about the future. Because the participants were awakened to a sublime realization through this physical experience, they were able to imprint strong impressions, akin to primal experiences, firmly in their memories. The study showed that geological and archeological field observations have an educational effect that develops a sense of the time concept in participants. We consider that this effect is characteristic of these two disciplines, and is important for environmental education.

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  Through a review of current literature on environmental education, this study confirms current situations and challenges to the introduction of nature experience study in school curricula and to the evaluation of such a program. The most important point that the government should consider is how to execute environmental education uniformly in all jurisdictions, thus enabling schools to easily introduce it. However, jurisdictional differences among governmental departments may negatively affect verification of the system through formative evaluation. Additionally, a verification system for each measure's effect, including continuance of long-term environmental conservation in local areas, is important because each differs in terms of duration and frequency of program. Consequently, the government should establish a system to use the information that existing educational research has already clarified.

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