Goyang City Responds to Climate Crisis... Environmental Education for Citizens and Future Generations 추진

Lee Dong-hwan: "Continuously Nurturing Environmental Citizens Who Take Action... Expecting Future Generations to Protect the Earth"
A Total of 1,475 Participants in the Climate Environment School... 4,978 in Goyang-Style Environmental Protection Programs
Training Experts Through Climate Crisis Response Education... Sharing Sustainable Practices

Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) is promoting environmental education for the general public and future generations as part of its carbon neutrality policy to overcome the climate crisis caused by global warming. The city plans to continuously expand educational programs to establish environmental protection values and encourage voluntary practice.

Children of the future generation participating in the Seed Climate Environment School in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, are attending the class with curious eyes. Photo by Goyang Special City

According to Goyang Special City on the 14th, the city is making efforts to cultivate citizen environmental leaders so that eco-friendly policies can be practiced in daily life. By the end of last year, the Goyang Environmental Education Center had trained 330 citizens as environmental professionals. In particular, it operates dynamic educational programs in cooperation with the local environmental education center, environmental organizations, and the Ramsar Janghang Wetland Ecology Center.

Goyang Special City guides individuals from early childhood to adulthood to establish values and practice eco-friendly behaviors through systematic environmental education. The city has established an age-specific environmental education system that connects life-cycle environmental education like a seed sprouting into a tree: seed (early childhood) - sprout (elementary school students) - tree (youth) - climate environment school (adults).

Especially, the adult climate environment school held an 8-week course titled "Goyang City Climate Environment School, Listening to Scholars: The Present and Future of the Climate Crisis" from July to August last year, which attracted a cumulative total of 1,475 participants despite the hot weather.

Goyang Special City held the 'Nature Environment Interpreter Completion Ceremony' last year, after which the attendees took a commemorative photo. Provided by Goyang Special City

To ensure systematic education, Goyang Special City has proactively established the "Goyang City Environmental Education Basic Plan" and prepared detailed plans in four areas: strengthening the foundation of environmental education, environmental education in public schools, expanding social environmental education, and enhancing cooperation in environmental education.

Environmental education helps form correct values about the environment, and linking it with school curricula amplifies its educational effect. The city analyzed curricula for early childhood (Nuri Curriculum), elementary, and secondary education and developed programs directly. These programs were recognized as excellent environmental education by the Ministry of Environment, securing credibility.

The Goyang-style environmental education programs include "Goyang City Seed Climate Environment School," "I Am in the Ecosystem!," "Earth! We Are So Similar," "Environmental Education Leading to Practice," and "Living Together, Protecting the Earth Together," with 4,978 participants last year.

Additionally, following the mandatory environmental education for elementary and middle schools in 2023, the city has promoted "School-Visiting Environmental Education" and "Teacher Training in Environmental Fields," supporting online educational materials and textbooks to help establish school environmental education.

Special Education Environmental Education for Students with Disabilities (A World We Live Together, A Planet We Must Protect Together). Provided by Goyang Special City

Furthermore, at the suggestion of teachers from Holt School, a special education institution for students with intellectual disabilities, the city is also promoting environmental education for special education students.

The experiential environmental education program "Living Together, Protecting the Earth Together" aims to cultivate environmental sensitivity among special education students and includes physical activities to develop fine motor skills to overcome physical challenges. The curriculum is designed to help students recognize that we are all members of the global community and to find ways to practice even small actions for the Earth. It was selected as an excellent program by the Ministry of Environment in September last year and will be further expanded this year.

This year marks the final year of the 1st Goyang City Environmental Education Plan. The city plans to further expand education for local administrative welfare center organizations and city employees and to promote the conservation value of excellent environmental areas to encourage voluntary community action. The city will actively collect citizens' opinions and fully incorporate them into the 2nd Goyang City Environmental Education Plan to continuously promote environmental education that citizens need and empathize with.

Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City. Provided by Goyang Special City

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang City stated, "To actively respond to the climate crisis that threatens human survival, we are implementing environmental policies that citizens can practice together," adding, "We expect that citizens will directly share the necessity and practice of responding to the climate crisis and exert a positive influence by leading the response to the climate crisis."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.