Presented by Mrs. Hanne M. Strong,

　President of the Manitou Institute

　 The Earth Restoration Corps (ERC) was established in 1988 by Mrs. Strong as a "learning by doing" initiative with the goal to lead participants to work in sustainable environmental development, and was widely endorsed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. From 1994 to the present. ERC Environmental Leadership Training has been conducted as summer workshops in Crestone, Colorado (USA), lasting for six-weeks. The training is directed toward three groups: young men and women in the military, with a hope to establish an alternative civilian service; indigenous peoples; and functionally illiterate women. Currently, there are plans for ERC to be expanded into a lengthier program and established in selected countries. "A structured learning process that integrates practical activities is necessary for the acquisition of ecological awareness, knowledge, skills, and experience that prepares participants for vocations in earth restoration upon leaving the ERC program" (Gyallay-Pap 2001, 2).

　 At the Global Forum, Mrs. Strong spoke about changing peoples' attitudes and behaviors, which have been based on wrong principles and are resulting in the death of the Earth and all life on it. She said that if we continue living consumptive and wasteful lifestyles and do not use the environmentally sustaining technologies that have already been developed--such as solar, wind and methane power, non-chemical farming, and so on--then life will no longer be supported on the planet. The soil will have too many chemicals for plants to grow, the water will be undrinkable, fish and animals will not be able to live, the air will not be breathable, and even the atmosphere will not protect us from the effects of the sun. Mrs. Strong maintained that the Earth is at an urgently critical stage and that humanity must work together to save itself.

　 She explained, "So that is how we have developed this project called the Earth Restoration Corps, which is basically a plan to mobilize the next generation to first of all restore their own consciousness, then to restore eco-systems, the forest, the soils, the rivers, the lakes, the reefs, whatever we have destroyed. If humanity is mobilized, we can do it." Soon there will be 1.5 billion young people entering the job market, and under the present system they will have no work to do. The ERC has "called on the indigenous people to come in and help re-teach humanity how to live simply, how to live a very fulfilling, spiritually, culturally fulfilling life."

　 The ERC strives to support natural and cultural diversity and so is adaptable to various regions and traditions. It recognizes the richness of life, in all its forms, and seeks to lead students to learn about the environment in a holistic way. The ERC is an "ethically based program in capacity building for sustainable development through training for sustainable livelihoods, or jobs in earth restoration, as the basis for sustainable development" (Gyallay-Pap 2001, 2).

　 Mr. Vare asked the participants in the Global Fo rum to think about a moment in their lives that they learned something. He said that he had asked this question in many places, and most people respond that they learned something through experience. People learn first from those whom they love and trust, secondly from other people in their lives, and thirdly from mass media, TV and radio. He suggested that perhaps the reason why the media falls into the last place is because dialogue is very important to learning.

　Living Earth Foundation does not hand people solutions and expect them to change in response. Instead, they "facilitate processes through which people make their own discoveries." Living Earth has a strategic approach that contains five educational functions, outlined below:

　 Living Earth Foundation is working in Ukraine, Venezuela, Uganda, Nigeria, New Guinea, Ghana, United Kingdom and Cameroon "to build partnerships between corporations, governments and civil society to develop long-lasting solutions to environmental problems and issues." It also builds upon and learns from its own experiences in developing programs. All Living Earth projects are community based and individually designed, according to the culture, politics and issues of the region. The Foundation operates as a facilitator, mentor, manager and trainer, and aims to "build confidence, develop self-reliance, and encourage healthy interdependence between all partner stakeholders" within a comumunity.

　 In closing, Mr. Vare spoke about a school-based program, which was "a twelvemonth Certificate course concerned with establishing school-community links through environmental projects," run by their partner organization Fundacion Tierra Viva in Venezuela. Although the course included lectures, it was primarily "built around practical project work that brought the school and their local community together." The teachers and community members researched, planned, implemented and evaluated hands-on practical projects, "all the while maximising opportunities for stakeholder participation throughout the cycle." As a result there were playgrounds where there had been garbage, and school gardens and improved buildings in areas that had once been dominated by vandalism. Teachers and pupils alike were excited by having done something so "real." When asked what they had learned from the experience, all the teachers agreed with one who said, "I don't know what we have learned from this experience ― but what I know is that we used to feel defeated by this environment and now anything is possible."

　 Ms. Hanai first explained the concept of the Earthworm Project. It is a school-based or community activity for the purpose of studying the environment that is practiced not only in Japan, but also in Australia, India, Korea, the USA, Scotland, and Germany. Children raise earthworms in schoolyards and compost heaps, and learn about earthworm ecology and how waste is processed in nature. The program involves almost no cost since earthworms can be found almost everywhere, and they serve as an excellent tool to teach children about the environment. For small children, the concepts of waste management and ecology are too abstract to grasp, but by working with earthworms that eat leaves and other vegetable waste matter, children can use all of their senses to understand the processes of nature.

　 One of the first things that children learn when they are exposed to earthworms is the relationship between the lives of earthworms and the lives of people. Children are very interested to see how kitchen refuse disappears with the help of the earthworms, and are excited when baby worms are born. Many items, such as plastics, are not biodegradable and cannot be consumed by earthworms, which is a problem that the children can quickly understand through observation. Children at one school, upon realizing the impact that PET bottles have on the environment, began to collect the bottles to be recycled.

　 One example Ms. Hanai gave of the Earthworm Project involved an elementary school in Miyagi Prefecture. The students began to use worms to decompose paper produced by the school. They used the resulting compost to fertilize vegetables, but became concerned about the toxic effects of the ink and wrote a letter to the company that produced it. The company was very impressed with the children's experiments, but advised them not to use the vegetables, because it had never considered the problem and was unsure of the toxic effects. The teachers contacted soil specialists who said the ink should have no negative effects. The children are now conducting experiments comparing vegetables grown in different types of soil.

　 There is a loose network of a variety of professionals, organized by the Global School Project, that support the Earthworm Project by answering questions and providing multifaceted advice. In this way, the students' and teachers' questions are answered correctly, and they develop a perspective reflecting society at large.

　 In March 2001, five schools/groups were represented at a Children's Environmental Workshop. Presentations were made, meetings were held and a seven-point Environmental Declaration was prepared with the assistance of teachers and college students. The children made such comments as: "the Earth has too much indigestible food and we need to reduce our waste" "we need to think of other living things, and not just of ourselves." In August 2001, the children presented their Declaration addressed to the Minister of Environment. The Ministry is interested in promoting such a project throughout Japan, and that recognition is very rewarding for the children.

　 Ms. Hanai concluded that the children are working hard, but it is important for children and adults to work together for the future. She noted that consistency among teachers is important and that the government and private sector need to work together.

　 Miss Sakai and Miss Aoi spoke about the activities of their Muromi Sawayaka Club, which was formed by the 6th graders of Muromi Elementary School in the city of Fukuoka. Miss Aoi spoke first and explained that their Club looked into what the ideal conditions should be in the Muromi Basin area near where they live, what the actual conditions are, and what they could do to improve the situation. Looking at the creatures in the area, they found brook trout and fireflies in the watershed, forests, and the upper streams; killifish midstream; whitebait and clams downstream; and horseshoe crabs in the bay.

　 During the summer, the Club members studied the area and conducted researches led by their teachers. They found that the trout and fireflies are diminishing in the upper areas, so they worked to clean up trash and stocked trout and firefly embryos. In the midstream area they intended to stock killifish, but a local association to protect the river would not allow it. The children were surprised, but they learned that it was important to not mix species of killifish, so they raised indigenous killifish in their homes to stock. In the lower basin, the Club worked with a whitebait fishing cooperative as its advisor. They learned that although the condition for stocking whitebait eggs was apparently ideal, the number of whitebait is also declining. In the bay area there was a lot of trash, which the Club members worked to remove, and they felt concerned because they did not find any horseshoe crab eggs in the bay.

　 Next, Miss Sakai spoke about their club activities at the school. First, for one and a half years the Club members have been voluntarily coming 30 minutes early to clean the school grounds. Second, they are working to reduce waste from school lunches to zero, in order to protect the environment. Third, they raised funds for OISCA's Children's Forest Program by contributing their own money and by collecting aluminum cans to recycle. Fourth, they began to raise Kenaf on school grounds, and are trying to create a Kenaf grove to help correct global warming, because it is very effective in absorbing CO2. The Club also intends to ask a radio program to appeal to the public not to litter.

　 As a result of their activities the Club members felt a number of changes within themselves. 1) They realized that they need to act on their own, instead of waiting for others to take action. 2) They realized the importance of cooperation and of each person responsibly fulfilling his or her own role. 3) They realized that human beings are just one species among many, and intend to look for ways to coexist with nature. 4) They felt it was important to pay more attention to human relations. 5) They became more careful not to create or spread trash. 6) They found that they became closer friends as they worked together on these projects. In conclusion, the girls noted that the Japanese have developed with little regard for the environment, and now have an affluent lifestyle, but do not interact with each other very often. We must promote the environment as we promote development, and we must live with nature as we are part of nature.

　 Dr. Gangloff first introduced American Forests as a non-profit conservation organization for trees and forests in the USA. It was also the first non-profit conservation organization in the USA, founded in 1875. American Forests is a world leader in tree planting for ecosystem restoration, focused on citizen involvement and the need to care for and understand the value of forest resources. She explained that American Forests works to change public policy, which in turn changes the way that the government operates. It also changes public opinion, which then changes how businesses and industries operate. Additionally, American Forest produces interdisciplinary school curricula for environmental education, which includes history, environment studies, math and science.

　 The "Global ReLeaf Campaign" was begun in 1990 and focuses on the environmental benefits of trees and forests. It disseminates information, as well as being a tree planting campaign. Since its inception, "Global ReLeaf" has helped to plant over 19 million trees through cost share grants to local organizations and government agencies to restore damaged forest eco-systems. Some American Forests projects are urban and community forestry projects. Both heating and cooling costs are reduced by planting trees around buildings, in addition to the benefits of providing beauty and helping to clean air and water.

　 "A Tree for Every Child" is a program sponsored by an outdoor clothing retailer, Eddie Bauer. It includes multi-disciplinary classroom lessons that can be downloaded from a website, and provides hands-on learning experiences to plant trees that are provided by American Forests. A similar program called "Living Classrooms" propagates trees associated with historical personalities, such as George Washington and Martin Luther King. Again, classroom lessons can be downloaded from a website for the program, which helps to teach observation, critical thinking and teamwork, and the students do the hands-on work of planting the historically related trees.

　 American Forests has also found a way to use satellite images and calculate the value of the impact that trees have on the environment in terms of dollar amounts. The information can be used to make persuasive public policy arguments for ecologically sound decisions. It is very expensive for cities to lose high canopy forested areas. When the trees are lost, solutions must be found for problems such as excessive storm water runoff, and poor air and water quality, besides the increased cost of heating and cooling buildings. The same computer programming that American Forests uses to calculate these expenses is available as user-friendly desktop geographic information systems (GIS) technology, which can be used at schools, as well as by city planners.

　 Additionally, through partnerships with other non-profit groups or corporations, American Forests plants trees internationally. It has a planting project in the far eastern part of Russia that focuses on saving the habitat for Siberian Tigers, of which only about 500 exist today. It also has partnerships with organizations in South Africa, South American, Cambodia, Indonesia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Hungary.

　 Mr. Tansley Thomas explained that the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) began in 1981 in Europe to educate people of all ages. Recently, it has grown to include South Africa and it intends to grow further. Its mission includes increasing awareness about environmental and sustainable development issues, but it especially focuses on taking practical action. FEE approaches people through their heads, hearts, and hands. Through their heads, so that they understand the interconnectedness of environmental issues. Through their hearts so that they make a commitment and decide to do something to change the situation. And, through their hands, by giving them the opportunity to act through practical programs.

　The FEE operates a number of projects and has a decentralized organization, with the secretariat in the UK and program coordination based throughout Europe. The Blue Flag Program Coordination is based in Denmark, and is about beaches and the safe management of beaches. The Young Reporters Program Coordination is based in France and is a journalistic reporting program on local environmental issues, which is then posted on a website to share with others. The Learning About Forests Program Coordination is also based in Denmark and is a forest education program. The Eco-Schools Coordination is based in Portugal and operates through the formal education system. It has been very successful in Europe and has generated a lot of interest outside of Europe.

　The Eco-Schools project was developed in 1992, after the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro. It is a whole-school environmental education program. It should involve all of the school, including the children, the teachers, and the non-teaching staff. It can be about such issues as water and energy consumption, waste production, and recycling. Students are involved in all stages of the process, because this is a way through which they learn decision-making. It is a long-term program and an award program, although the award is difficult to win taking as long as several years.

　 The process involved in creating an Eco-School is to first establish a committee, and all aspects of the Eco-School process must center on the children and allow them to make decisions that affect the life of the school. An environmental review is then taken of and by the school, which assesses the environmental impact of the school. Next, an action plan with a time scale and achievable targets is developed based on the findings of the review. The implementation of the plan should go in small steps, and it is important for the children to measure their progress. The results of the monitoring and evaluation are then reported to everyone in the school. The school curriculum should support the students' work, so that they understand the need for all of the Eco-School activities and can learn about healthy living. Additionally, the school should inform the community about what it is doing. The school also produces an eco-code, which is a statement of their objectives.

　 The benefits of Eco-schools include making a school a healthy organism. Resources―such as water, energy and paper―can be saved, and that in turn can lead to saving money. These schools can attract national publicity. Additionally, an international exchange can take place and children can learn from others' experiences and about other cultures. Additionally, the findings from the schools can be used to persuade outsiders, especially governments, how things could be done differently. In this way, Eco-schools can lead to changes on a broader level.

　 OISCA began as an agricultural and developmental NGO in 1961. Over time it became clear that deforestation was adversely affecting agriculture, and in 1980 OISCA started a movement to plant trees and help alleviate a shortage of water for agriculture . After years of experience it also became clear that the movement needed to be expanded to include a focus on educating children, and in 1991 the Children's Forest Program (CFP) was begun. The CFP is a school-based program, in which children are the main actors and teachers, parents and other community members are also involved.

　Mr. Alahakoon described how the CFP is organized and why it has been so successful. All the way from the OISCA World Headquarters, located in Tokyo, to the participating pupils in 24 countries is a network of coordinators, each of whom has responsibilities related to the Program. OISCA has set up a system of organizational steps for the Program, which has contributed to its success. Another important factor is that the CFP works with schools, which are at the center of communities everywhere. The initiative and actions taken by the children encourage adults to be involved, so that the children and adults work together. And the children work in the field. They plant the trees and care for them over a period of several years, including putting up fences, weeding, watering and giving them fertilizer. Through this process the children learn about the importance of life, and their relationships with each other deepen as they work together for a common goal. Also, they learn why it is essential for humans to protect the environment.

　 Mr. Alahakoon noted that it is important for the coordinators to present themselves appropriately when they visit a school. He said that if he showed up at a school dressed in a coat and tie, and told the people that "you must care for the trees, you must plant the trees and protect the environment," then they may not trust him. He said that in his country someone who dresses that way would be perceived as a person who gives orders but does not do any physical work. So, whenever coordinators go to a school or community to deliver the message, they are dressed to work in the field. Coordinators visit the schools a number of times in a year and talk to PTAs, children, and teachers to develop a better understanding. The visits are important because the CFP is a bridge between the community and nature.

　 In 1992, the CFP was introduced to five schools in Mr. Alahakoon's country, Sri Lanka, which now has 177 participating schools. In each country there are different considerations in terms of what trees to plant and what the community needs. Another important activity of OISCAns in Sri Lanka is waste management. He said that the Sri Lanka OISCAns learned about separating garbage and dealing with waste from their time spent in Japan. When they go to plant a field, they first pick up the implements and trash that have been left behind by former workers. The clean-up program has been extended to the community. Children are excited about the waste management program and talk with adults about it. There have even been parades promoting the waste management effort, and parents are very proud to see their children involved. Not only parents, but also others in the community have been moved and impressed by the commitment of the children. Recently the office of Minister of Environment has been contacting OISCA, and they have increasing opportunities to work with the Ministry.

　 In closing, Mr. Alahakoon reminded the participants that there is no border for environmental problems. Ethnic, religious and gender distinctions are not relevant to environmental problems, because the environment does not discriminate, but affects us all. So, when the differences become a barrier, it is important to remember that it is the responsibility of all of us to protect and care for Mother Earth.