Global Green and Green Cross International focus to increase the number of people who will have started caring for the environment from childhood, and who will grow up to be even better stewards of The Earth, for the benefit of future generations.
Green Cross International
Green Cross launched the Green Lane Diary project in 1999 to promote environmental education for children in Japan. For a certain period of time, elementary school students – ages 6 to 12 – keep a log of their sustainable activities, related thoughts, and observations. This environmental diary raises the children’s awareness of caring for and impacting our planet in their daily lives.
Each year in Japan around 100,000 students work on The Green Lane Diary.
The project is officially recognized by the Japanese ministries of the Environment, Education, and Foreign Affairs. In the 21 years since its start in 1999, to its most recent run, around 1.7 million children have joined the Green Lane Diary. To encourage students and recognize their achievements, the Green Lane Diary Contest is held each year, and their best works are praised in an award ceremony.
Green Lane Diary Around the World
Since its launch, a number of other Green Cross national organizations have adopted the Green Lane Diary. Green Cross Sri Lanka has been running the project since its own launch in 2005. Green Cross Australia implemented the diary from 2010 to 2013, and Green Cross Korea from 2011 to 2013. In Sri Lanka, 8 000 Grade-5 students participate each year in the Green Lane Diary. Green Cross Sri Lanka holds the contest and award ceremony annually. The top students even get to travel to Japan and attend Japan’s award ceremony.
The Green Lane Diary
The Green Lane Diary consists of two parts. The Guidebook and the Diary Pages.
Guidebook
Students learn about various environmental themes such as water, energy, waste, climate change, and SDGs. They are also taught how to protect the environment in everyday life.
Diary Pages
The Diary Pages has columns for 12 weeks (for 84 days) in which students keep a record of their daily actions and observations to protect the environment.
Since the start of the environmental diary project, nearly 2 million children around the world have learned about the importance or caring for our planet through the Green Lane Diary. The grand scheme is to increase the number of children who care for the environment, and who will grow up to be even better stewards of the Earth for coming generations.
