ECO Tedako CDC

Environmental Sustainability Initiatives

At CDC we are striving to operate in a more environmentally friendly way and help the children to learn about the environment. CDC leadership, staff, parents and children are all part of this exciting effort.

Currently in Practice

  1. Reusable hand towels to reduce the use of paper towels (Currently Suspened due to COVID-19)
  2. Art projects made from recycled materials
  3. Metal drinking cups to reduce the use of plastics (2018)
  4. Classroom and office recycling to teach the importance of recycling: Recycling is something we talk about with children often, and we make great efforts to give the children some hands-on experience with Recycling. The children collect empty milk cartons after snack for all classes and will also bring the milk cartons to local grocery stores with their parents for recycling.  We work with OIST CPR section to take outdated posters to use for CDC art projects.
  5. Skylights included in the building architecture to save electricity 
  6. Eliminating the use of bottled water with the installtion of water filters (2020)
  7. Composting: Shinka children take our banana peels to the compost pile weekly in an effort to be more eco friendly. School Year 2020, 2021.  *Stopped in School Year 2022.
  8. Annual Beach Clean Up Event for Kindergaten
  9. Children's garden and field trips to farms to teach how local food is produced

In Development

  1. Eliminating the use of plastic bags to bring home dirty clothing
  2. Commitment to using only environmentally responsible products
  3. Eliminating the use of plastic water pitchers
  4. Solar Energy
  5. Expanding composting to include Preschool classrooms and more (edemame shells, apple and orange peels).   Purchasing composting bins to accomidate more compost and working with OIST Garden Club on teaching children about gardens (2021)
  6. Colloborating with BFM to create Insect Hotels at the Gardens Complex (2021)
  7. Colloborating with Student Professional Development Project on Honey Bee Saves Coral Project (2021)

Ways CDC Parents can be More Green

  1. Dropping off and picking up your child
    • If you live in Onna or Ishikawa you can use the OIST buses to bring your child to CDC, the bus stops outside the CDC main entrance.
    • If you are dropping off and picking up your child/children in a stroller, you can fold it away and store it for the day in the storage area at the back of the CDC building one. Kindly ask your child’s teacher for details of how to access the storage.
    • If you are dropping off or picking up in your car, please do not leave the engine running as it creates air pollution around CDC and is bad for the environment.
  2. Formula milk
    • If you are providing formula milk for your child, CDC can reuse and recycle the large tins but the packaging on the individually wrapped tablets is not recyclable.
  3. Dirty clothes
    • We kindly ask parents to either re-use the same sturdy plastic bag, or a reusable bag to take home your child’s dirty clothes and face cloths home each day.
  4. Annual beach clean up 
    • Parents are encouraged to join us on the annual beach clean up day in Onna village. This takes place every year around Earth Day on April 22nd. 
  5. Children’s clothes exchange 
    • CDC and PATO facilitate parents to exchange used children’s clothes, toys, books and other items. Follow the CDC newsletter for information about these events.
  6. Get involved
    • CDC is very grateful for the support from parents and PATO in our collective efforts to be more environmentally friendly. Please email preschool@oist.jp to get involved.

Educational Resources for Children

 

FY22 CDC OIST SDG Rep

Yosuke Taira, Miyarabi Classroom Staff

My name is Yosuke Taira, CDC Japanese teacher, and I will be the CDC representative on the SDG Advisory Group for FY 2022.

People's interest in the SDGs has been growing rapidly in recent years, and achieving the SDGs is now becoming a global standard. I have personally been highly interested in the SDGs. I used to work as a dive guide in Onna Village and grew up surrounded by the beautiful ocean of Okinawa, so I was naturally able to personalize especially the SDG 14 "Life Below Water.”

Also, as an educator, the goal of "Quality Education" is something that each of us at CDC should take to heart. Education is the key to achieving all the SDGs, because children with an awareness of the SDGs will create a sustainable society in the future. We as educators have a great responsibility to be aware of the importance of education for sustainable development in our daily childcare and to be able to facilitate children's learning.

I would like to contribute to raising awareness of the SDGs among staff members and children and strive to create an environment where we can actively share SDG actions and ideas with each other at CDC.

Other Eco Information for Parents 

  1. Renting baby and toddler kit
    • You can rent items for your child, like car seats, cribs, weighing scales, etc through Duskin Baby Kasite 
    • Buying, selling and donating second hand clothes and toys resources
      • ​ There is a Facebook group for those that live in the Onna-Son area and also information about buying and selling used children’s clothes on the Resouce Center Website.
  2. Environmentally-friendly suppliers
    • Ecodepa Japan online store carries a selection of environmentally friendly goods, including maternity products, baby clothes and wooden toys.
  3. Nominate CDC staff for PATO Green Award