Environmental Education Center of
Miyagi University of Education

Outline of this Center

The subject of environmental problems is now one that is discussed worldwide on a daily basis.
Many people are concerned with and are making a great effort to solve these problems.
The point is that we are not only being affected by these problems, but in fact are causing a great deal of damage to nature.
What is important to us is what role school education can and should play in dealing with these problems from global as well as national perspectives.
There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop practical teaching methods and materials which can be used in teaching pupils the importance of the environment and the seriousness of the environmental problems.

Two years ago, an environment center, called "Environmental Education Center of Miyagi University of Education," was founded as a major educational institution of Miyagi University of Education.
The center also aims to provide citizens in this area with a facility in which they can study and do some research on the environment in cooperation with the city and prefectural governments.
The educational principle of the center is the following: the fundamental basis of environment education is to know about the development and structures of nature and to become considerate towards nature; for this purpose, the center puts great emphasis on direct involvement with nature, direct learning from nature, and understanding of the reproductive mechanisms of nature.
In short, the overall function of the center is to develop new approaches to environment education through public symposiums, environmental educational colloquiums, and research projects in cooperation with citizens in this area.
Some specific aims of the center are the following:

to produce teachers who can put environment education into practice;
to provide graduate environmental studies to citizens;
to establish environmental educational studies in school education;
to serve the community through environment educational activities;
to promote information network - base environment education; and
to establish "field museums for environmental education and studies."