|
 Junior
Eco-Club, which encourages elementary and middle school students in
Japan to help protect the environment, was chosen by the United Nations
Environment Program as one of the recipients of the 1999 Global 500 Award
for Environmental Achievement. The Global 500 is an international award
presented to individuals and organizations that have contributed to environmental
conservation. The award ceremony was held on June 5, 1999, as part of
the World Environment Day Ceremony. Junior Eco-Club is a program that was started in 1995 by Japan's Environment Agency. Anyone can join, as long as he or she is an elementary or middle school student in Japan. From April 1998 to March 1999, close to 70,000 students in the 4,000 or so chapters across Japan were involved in environmental activities.  Junior
Eco-Club won the Global 500 Award for two main reasons. First, it encourages
the kids to take the lead by having them decide on the name of their chapter
and what kind of activities they will do. Second, not only children but
also adults living in the area get involved in the local chapters' activities,
like nature watching and recycling campaigns. One person in the Environmental
Agency thinks "the club was probably recognized for the diversity of its
activities and for its interaction with local communities." On the day after the World Environment Day Ceremony, children involved in environmental protection activities gathered from all over the world for the 1999 Junior Eco-Club Asia-Pacific Conference.  Members
of the Takasago Eco Club, who represented Japan, gave a presentation on
their activities: investigating the level of atmospheric pollution using
morning glories and observing animals and plants that live by the water.
They called out to friends around the world saying, "Let's all do things
that are good for the earth, like throwing away trash in the proper places."
Photos: (From top) Conference participants from Fiji present a report;
everyone wrote a pledge on a paper leaf to create this tree; posing
proudly at the closing ceremony. (Environment Agency) 
|