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Lecture #2, Mr. Andrew Brookes |
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Reporter admin ,
Date 20040405
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Andrew Brookes stressed that the relationship with the land is the key for Environmental Education.
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In Tokyo, Mr. Brookes presented his deep insight on history of outdoor activities and relationship between people and nature in Australia.
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As a pre event of his presentation in Tokyo, ecoplus organized a 2-day workshop in rural area at Niigata prefecture staying a straw thatched roof house under the strong influence of Japanese traditional culture.
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"Japan has a very different relationship to the regional and world environment than does Australia or the US, for economic and historical reasons"
Mentioned Mr. Andrew Brooks in his e-mail sent back to Japan some weeks later after he came back to Australia.
Mr. Brooks, a senior lecturer at La Trobe University of Australia joined "ecoplus" managed his time when he was invited to a academic conference in Japan, not only as a speaker in Tokyo but also as a key facilitator of a workshop held in very local community in a remote town, Kadoide, in Niigata prefecture.
Mr. Brookes is known as one of leading researchers on environmental education, having very sharp observations on outdoor programs regarding relationship with history and society. He is leading programs at Outdoor Education and Environment Department, at La Trobe University.
Mr. Brookes was talking very carefully selecting words without simplified judgement providing very different angles of discussions.
In town of Kadoide, Mr. Brookes and families, students and educators were discussing under a thatched roof traditional farm house which locals have been keeping as one of examples of its tradition.
Mr. Brookes was stressing that there might be opportunities for environmental education not in "superb nature' but in our communities.
He also pointed out in his lecture in Tokyo that it might be questionable if it would be valuable or not for EE to be surrounded by trees, plants and flowers imported from other continents, when he was asked the value of EE programs in city parks.
Many groups are now organizing their programs in city area in Japan but he looks like warn that EE has a very important roll as a base of the future of democratic society.
He also answered to the audience that "When you take Japanese students to a tropical forest as an 'Eco-Tour' saying to provide them direct experience, is it truly essential for them ? For what they may learn from the forest, should they necessarily go to far away from Japan? Who understand about the forest most?"
On the other hand, in Australia people ignored its own land and just introduced what they did in Europe and failed, he said.
Finally he commented that Japan might have some different relation with the land from Western way and it might be worth to observe how it goes on. It encourages us very much.
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