「地域が学べば地域が育つ」愛媛ダイビングセンターの取組 / When Communities Learn, Communities Grow: Ehime Diving Center’s Efforts
「青い海中世界へ誘う癒しの海楽園 海好きなダイバーが集う憩いの隠れ家」
愛媛ダイビングセンターのホームページを開くとまず飛び込んでくるのはこのフレーズ。実はここ、ただのダイビングセンターではありません。
愛媛ダイビングセンターのある愛媛県の南予地域は長く海の豊かさを享受し、海と共にその歴史を刻んできた土地です。しかし他の地方同様、少子高齢化や海の仕事に就く若い世代の減少など、さまざまな課題を抱えています。そんな中、「地域が学べば地域が育つ」を合言葉に、地域の未来を考えるためのアクションを起こそうと、愛媛ダイビングセンターと地域の方々が立ち上がりました。
暑さもピークを迎えた8月3日。八幡浜市水産物地方卸売市場（八幡浜市魚市場）に18の団体が集まって出展し、楽しみながら地域を学ぶSDGsイベントが開催されました。気候変動教育、生産消費教育、生物多様性、エシカル消費、減災・防災、多文化共生、海洋・平和教育などさまざまな切り口で地域の魅力を発信し、SDGsにつながる学びを提供。特に海の仕事をしている人たちは温暖化の影響をリアルに感じており、それらを具体的に知ることで温暖化は他人事ではないこと、自分の住む地域の在り方を考える必要があることを誰もが感じた一日となりました。
「地球温暖化のように世界各地で起きている大きな変化については騒がれているが、注視（モニタリング）しなければならない問題は、足元で起きている小さな変化だということ、生物多様性の異変は、「生命の環」として「観光業」「地域振興」へのダメージ（地域経済の損失）へと繋がること、SDGs17の目標達成へ向けての活動が注目されているが、自分たちで活動を起こさなければ変革は起こり得ないこと（愛媛ダイビングセンターHPより抜粋）」
このメッセージを教育現場でも発信し、持続可能な社会づくり担い手を育む教育を実践していることから、愛媛ダイビングセンターは地域ESD拠点にも登録されており、その取り組みは県内外さまざまなところで紹介されています。
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- ＜松柏中学校＞
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- ＜VR映像活用授業＞
令和4年2月、愛媛ダイビングセンターの運営者が主体となって一般社団法人地方創生機構を設立し、海の環境課題に取り組んできた経験を地域づくりにも展開しています。西日本で初めてとなる全国８団体目の５省共管の環境教育等支援団体に指定され、また、令和６年度「令和の里海づくりモデル事業（環境省）」にも愛媛県で初めて採択されました。
愛媛ダイビングセンターと地方創生機構は、今後ICT教育を通じた取組等も視野に入れて活動する方針で、ここ南予地域における両団体の動きが、同じような課題を抱える多くの地方に波及効果を及ぼすことが期待されます。
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- ＜サンゴ保全＞
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- ＜海底清掃＞
※愛媛ダイビングセンター http://wwwd.pikara.ne.jp/ehime-dive/
※一般社団法人地方創生機構 https://region.jpn.org/
When Communities Learn, Communities Grow: Ehime Diving Center’s Efforts
“A rejuvenating underwater paradise, beckoning you into a world of blue. Welcome to the hidden retreat where ocean-loving divers gather.”
These are the words that greet you upon opening the Ehime Diving Center’s homepage — and the first hint that this is far more than just a simple diving school.
The history of Ehime Prefecture’s Nanyo region, where the Ehime Diving Center is located, is intertwined with the sea, and it has long enjoyed the sea’s bounty. However, like other rural areas, it faces various challenges including an aging population and a decline in younger generations entering maritime professions. Under these circumstances, the Ehime Diving Center and members of the community have created a new slogan, “When communities learn, communities grow,” in order get people thinking about the future.
August 3rd, at the peak of the summer heat. 18 organizations gathered at the Yawatahama Regional Seafood Wholesale Market (Yawatahama Fish Market) for an SDGs event focused on having fun while learning about the local area. It showcased the region’s appeal from various angles, such as climate change education, “prosumer” education, biodiversity, ethical consumption, disaster prevention and mitigation, and marine and peace education — all of which also provided learning opportunities connected to the SDGs. In particular, for the people who work on and around the sea and feel the effects of climate change in their day to day lives, the main takeaway was that fixing climate change isn’t somebody else’s problem, and that each of them must think about the future of their own communities.
“While there is much commotion about major changes affecting the entire world, like global warming, the changes we must monitor carefully are the tiny ones happening beneath our own feet. Abnormalities in biodiversity ripple out as a ‘circle of life’ that negatively effects tourism and regional development, and causes real economic losses. There is much attention these days on activities aimed at achieving the 17 SDGs, but ultimately we are the ones who must initiate those activities to transform our world.” (From the Ehime Diving Center’s home page)
For their efforts in promoting this message in educational settings and implementing education to nurture future leaders for sustainable societies, the Ehime Diving Center has been registered as a regional ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) hub, and its initiatives have been introduced in various places both inside and outside of the prefecture.
＜Matsukaya Junior High School＞
＜Lesson using VR＞
In February 2022, the operators of the Ehime Diving Center established the Rural Regeneration Framework, a general incorporated organization that leveraged their experience tackling marine environmental issues to address regional development as well. They became the eighth organization in all of Japan and the first organization in Western Japan to be designated an environmental education support organization jointly managed by five government ministries. Additionally, in the 2024 fiscal year they were the first organization from Ehime prefecture to be selected as a “Reiwa Era Satoumi-building Model Project” by the Ministry of the Environment.
The Ehime Diving Center and the Rural Regeneration Framework plan to incorporate ICT education in their future activities, and the initiatives of both organizations in the Nanyo region are expected to have ripple effects for many other rural areas facing similar challenges.
＜Coral preservation＞
＜Sea floor cleaning＞
※ Ehime Diving Center
※ General Incorporated Association: Rural Regeneration Framework
