The Rich Nature of the Yochisha Science Garden

Tatsumi Suguro

Yochisha Teacher (Science)

The "Science Garden" at Keio Yochisha Elementary School is of extremely high quality as a school biotope located in the city center, and is home to a truly diverse range of living creatures. Many creatures do not complete their lives in a single environment, but live by moving between multiple environments, such as waterfronts and grasslands. Therefore, for diverse creatures to inhabit an area, it is important to provide various environmental elements such as forests, grasslands, waterfronts, and fields, and to be conscious of areas called "ecotones," which are intermediate places between them. For a pond and a grassland, it is desirable that they are not completely separated by concrete, but rather have a water's edge like a muddy tidal flat in between. The Science Garden was planned and built with this configuration by Mr. Kensuke Shimizu of our school, and as a result, a diverse range of creatures live there despite its size.

I am now in my ninth year at Yochisha, and throughout that time I have continued to survey insects and spiders. Even though it is a city center biotope, once you start investigating, there are a surprising number of insects; currently, my list includes about 1,100 species, and that number continues to grow. Some of them have been selected as endangered species by the Ministry of the Environment or the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and I have found that species whose habitats are limited in the city center are using the Science Garden as a home. For example, among dragonflies, there are the Four-spotted Skimmer, the Orange-tailed Sprite, and the Yellow Sprite. I was also surprised by an aquatic insect of the order Hemiptera called the Appasus. This insect is on the verge of extinction in the ward areas of Tokyo and has been found in the pool during the off-season. There was also an appearance of the Wasp Spider, which is found near rice fields in the Tama area of Tokyo but is very rare in the city center.

As a lesson for finding living things in the Science Garden, I conduct an activity called "Seasonal Flower Wanted List," where I have students look for and pick about 6 to 10 types of flowers. Everyone searches hard when they are made to compete. I feel that the experience of finding the actual object builds a foundation of interest. This is not part of their usual home life, and before doing such activities, individual flowers are processed as "scenery" and do not enter their awareness. Even if they are not interested in flowers at first, once they start, they feel like they "have to search" because they want to beat the other groups, and I think most children become engrossed.

In this "Wanted List" lesson, even if it's not on the list, if they bring something like an insect or grass, I tell them its name and give them points. This follows the policy of Mr. Hiroaki Aiba, who retired at the end of last year. When students bring insects, they tend to worry only about "rarity," because "rarity" is a scale that anyone can understand and is an object of praise. If they find out it's not rare, they often stop looking at it, so I try not to communicate the "rarity" too much. However, sometimes students do catch truly rare insects, and in those moments, I can't help but say, "That's an amazing one." Of course, the students are very happy. It often happens that a child who couldn't touch insects at all becomes quite okay with them. Also, even children who liked insects to begin with are often only interested in things like stag beetles, rhinoceros beetles, mantises, butterflies, and dragonflies, but when I teach them the names of small flies and such, they start to pay attention to them.

The Science Garden also serves as a catalyst for interest in environmental issues. For example, sustainability is one of the major themes of current society. When collecting plants during the search for living things in the Science Garden, I basically make it okay to pick anything as long as they don't pull out the whole plant. It is such a healthy environment that the level of picking by Yochisha students won't make them disappear. However, I give them the opportunity to think about how they can ensure those plants don't disappear and can continue to be picked forever. There are also fruit trees such as summer oranges, chestnuts, and persimmons in the Science Garden, and while they are free to pick them, I set a loose rule that there are other people who want to pick them too, so they must make sure there is enough left for those people. I believe this is the starting point of sustainability.

Additionally, students can experience the problem of invasive species firsthand. In recent years, an invasive plant called Virginia Pepperweed has become very numerous, and if left alone, there is a danger it will replace native plants. By having students pull these out one by one, they can feel for themselves that "there are so many growing here." Also, when they look again six months later and see them growing exactly as before, I think they can understand through experience that this is a very strong plant that cannot be easily eradicated. It is necessary to continue thoroughly exterminating such robust invasive species for a certain period of time.

In this way, I feel that by taking an interest in nature in various forms, the students' perspectives are broadening, and I hope that their powers of observation not only for living things but also for other fields are being nurtured. I believe that the power of observation—being able to notice various things—is necessary in any field. Since graduates of Keio Yochisha Elementary School will become leaders of society in the future, I believe that when these students become adults and have to make decisions, the way society functions will change if they consider things that are important from a long-term perspective, such as biological resources and the environment, rather than just securing immediate profits. I feel that my job carries a heavy responsibility in helping Yochisha students grow with an awareness of sustainability.

In terms of responsibility, academic contribution is also important. I publish a list of insects and spiders inhabiting the Science Garden, but there are surprisingly few places in the city center that conduct continuous, high-density surveys. Therefore, if there is a request from an outside researcher to conduct a survey in the Science Garden, I try to cooperate.

For the various activities of the students and myself, it is very grateful that the Science Garden is a place we can go to casually on a daily basis. Nowadays, picking living things is no longer a free activity in many parks and facilities. In the Science Garden, basically, you won't get scolded no matter what plants you pick or what insects you catch. I think it is a very blessed thing to have such a place inside the school.