|
|
| |
| About Us |
| |
| Miyakojima-Kidsnet.org is primally a children's overall regional experimental educational program based on a socio-cultural, environmental research project on remote Japanese islands in Okinawa.
Miyako Island (Miyakojima) Kidsnet.org was created to provide ideas and information about small islands' issues. Not only should adults think about this issue, but children can also begin to look at the problems of small islands and look for their unique solutions as skilled environmental stewards in the region.
Our mission is to find diversified solutions that can improve the lifestyle of people living on small islands by pursuing various solutions to protect the environment and sustain the island's natural resources. |
 |
 Welcome! My name is Karin and I am the project coordinator and web designer of Miyako Island Kidsnet.org. I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii but later moved to Miyako Island, the birthplace of my mother. When I first arrived on the island, I thought it had a very pleasant environment, with a climate similar to Hawaii and beautiful beaches.
However, after visiting many different beaches, we discovered them to be littered with incredible amounts of debris, both local and foreign. As a child growing up on islands and having a close connection with the ocean, I was upset to see the state of those beaches. I was also surprised that some of the more public beaches had concrete walls built along the shorelines, disrupting the natural environment.
|
 |
 There is a special connection between people and the place they are from. For me, growing up closely interacting with nature in Hawaii and Miyako Island motivated me to take action on behalf of the environment. Growing up close to nature, whether through outdoor activities, gardening, or playing outside, creates a strong bond with nature that cannot be felt without such physical connection. Through this, respect and responsibility towards nature can be developed. This is why I want to encourage more youths to interact with nature and create their own bonds in their environment. |
| |
 Today, there are many environmental issues affecting people and their environments worldwide. Solving these large-scale issues would involve continual efforts into the future, which would depend on the actions of future generations.
By encouraging youths to connect with nature, they can be motivated to take responsibility of our degrading environment simply because they care. From playing outside to volunteering at beach clean-ups, the problem solvers of the future may be born. |
| |
At the moment, we are further developing our research functions through our arrival surveys (found under the Marine Debris tab). By conducting frequent research surveys at Ocean Shores of Washington State and keep an organized system of data collection, we hope to bring attention to the highly global aspect of environmental issues.
While our focus is on Miyako Island, the solutions we introduce on our site can be localized for your own community. We also urge you to think about global implications of environmental problems (climate change, food/water shortage, waste disposal, etc.) and seek solutions that will benefit our planet, including all of its physical and biological aspects. |
| |
| I welcome you to Miyakojima and to exchange ideas with us to further broaden our knowledge and interaction with our environment. |
| |
|
 |
