Jane Goodall Institute Japan - ジェーン・グドール インスティテュート・ジャパン

Session 2: “This is Our First Action!”
・Date: Friday, September 26, 19:00–20:00
・Online (Zoom)

In our second session, participants took the exciting step of deciding on their very first actions. Building on Step 2 — Explore — which they had worked on as homework, each group reviewed the results of their community mapping and reflected on the local issues and resources they discovered. Based on these insights, they began to shape the specific themes they wanted to work on as a team.

Opening

The session began with a recap of what we learned last time. Participants anonymously shared reflections they had written on their individual sheets:

“While discussing local issues, I was inspired by people who had perspectives I’d never considered before. It helped me broaden my own way of thinking.”

“By actually visiting the sites where problems exist and talking with people involved, I think we could come up with even more ideas.”

After the reflection, teams introduced their group name they had chosen. Each name carried the team’s unique personality and a shared desire to protect nature, living beings, and our planet.

Roots & Shoots Day of Service, San Francisco, October 11,2017

Step 2: Sharing Community Mapping Results

In the group sessions, participants presented the community maps they had created as homework.
They discussed:

• What kinds of issues exist, and where?
• What resources can be used to address those issues?

Looking closely at their own schools and neighborhoods, participants exchanged ideas from the perspectives of environment, animals, and people.

Some groups focused on “marine pollution and changes in biodiversity,” while others explored “the history of the trees planted on their school grounds and how we engage with them.”

They discovered that even everyday surroundings can reveal hidden challenges once we take a closer look.

Step 3: Let’s Decide on Our Actions!

The next step was to decide on their first actions — small steps that can grow into big change. Teams brainstormed together: What kind of action do we want to take? How can we gather allies? What resources can we use?

Ideas included:

“Let’s host a movie screening!”
“Let’s go visit the site in person!”
“Let’s plan a nature observation tour within our school!”

Each idea reflected creativity, curiosity, and a growing sense of ownership among participants.

Next Theme

The next session’s theme will be “Let’s Celebrate!”. We’ll look back on the actions taken during the past month, share what has changed, and celebrate everyone’s efforts together.

Reflections from Roots & Shoots Coordinators

Japanese Group

• Yu Kobayashi:Last time, the team consisted of three high school students, but this time they came back stronger with two new members. During the one-hour session, I saw each of them gradually becoming more confident in expressing their own opinions, and it was inspiring to watch them carefully discuss their team’s first action together. Although they haven’t finalized their action yet, they narrowed it down to two or three ideas, and I’m excited to see how they make their decision and what steps they will take next. They only have one month till the next session but this will be their very first challenge as a team. But I believe in Dr. Jane Goodall’s words: “Each and every decision and actions can make a difference.” I’ll do my best to support them wholeheartedly through the remaining two sessions.
• Shoko Horii: This time, all members were able to join, including those who couldn’t participate last time. Since it was their second session, they seemed more relaxed than before. Each member had their own ideas of what they wanted to do, so the discussion naturally turned toward how and at what pace they should begin taking action. They are usually friends who dance together, but I could sense that being able to talk about topics like climate change, the environment, and living creatures with people they trust has become a source of motivation for them. Moving forward, I would like to continue encouraging and supporting them as they find their own rhythm and balance, making the most of each member’s individuality.

English Group

• Larissa: Through this session we learned not only the importance of perseverance but also flexibility and looking at things from a different angle.  While participants were not able to gain support from crucial adults they adjusted their thinking to what they themselves could do. It was decided that giving a tour to students of the existing green spaces on campus would make more students aware of the assets of their campus community and where they could possibly focus to improve or extend the green spaces. Organizing a student discussion group will also raise awareness among students and introduce the participant to the interests, skills and talents of other students who may join the action of rewilding the school campus.
• Mina Oba: “Our group has a big goal — to work on rewilding our school. Along the way, we found that it can be difficult to gain teachers’ cooperation or to organize study sessions independently, which led us to realize the challenge of gathering allies. When we shared examples of school rewilding projects from Roots & Shoots groups overseas, new ideas began to bloom, and I could feel the sense of excitement return. It reminded me how essential it is to feel that we’re all part of one team — both coordinators and participants, learning and acting together.”