The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) conducted the 2nd ASEAN-Japan Eco-School class at Kuki Higashi Elementary School in Kuki City, Saitama on July 19. In FY 2021, the AJC conducted the pilot project “Hiroshima-ASEAN Eco-School” for raising awareness on the marine plastic waste problem for the youth. From FY 2022, the AJC has expanded its project to “ASEAN-Japan Eco-School”.
This time, AJC conducted a hybrid class (in person and online). The project fellow, Ms. Machiko Fujikawa, a Master’s student at the Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering at Waseda University Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering delivered the lecture in Japanese to 62 students (2 classes) in the fifth grade of elementary school.
The summary of the lecture programme is as follows.
- Hybrid lecture (in person and online) by Ms. Machiko Fujikawa.
２．Ms. Fujikawa showed a picture of a shore in Japan full of plastic waste, and asked them to think about how marine plastic waste is being transported from land to the coast.
3. Five-day plastic waste counting exercise with the students.
4．Introduction of the Marine Plastic Waste related activities in Saitama Prefecture and Kuki City.
5. Introduced a bag made of cassava called “This is not plastic” that dissolves in hot water as an example of a plastic alternative. With the cooperation of the teachers from Kuki Higashi Elementary School, the students experienced how the bag dissolved in hot water after stirring for about 30 seconds.
6. Lastly, two picture books “Sakana ga inaku nacchautte!?” (さかながいなくなっちゃうって!?) published by the Hiroshima Sogo and launched at the Hiroshima Prefecture “GREEN SEA Setouchi Hiroshima Platform” (GSHIP) were donated to keep students’ interest in the marine plastic waste problem.
