[O08-P30] The Efforts of the Shikoku Seiyo Geopark after the revalidation from JGN council and the 2018 Japan Floods.
Keywords:Geopark, Seiyo City, revalidation, 2018 Japan floods
On December 22, 2017, Japanese Geopark Network Council granted the renewal certified status to our Shikoku Seiyo Geopark for another four years. Although we were actively involved in geopark activities after getting the approval of renewal certificate, we had experience of several severe damages due to heavy rain, landslides, and floods in Seiyo City in 2018, and which caused the loss of six people’s lives. In the Shikoku Seiyo Geopark, the five geosites were damaged among twenty-three sites. The two geosites are still in the state of restricting to the visitors to access for the entry up until now.
In order to respond to the situation, we conducted the educational programs named “Seiyo Nature and Culture College” to the people living around the areas for the awareness of their surroundings. In the programs, we conducted lectures and field trip programs with experts who are familiar with local knowledge and geography, train new courses, and teach the participants how to use the geopark. The participants in the field trips had joyful experience of watching the scenery of the areas familiar from usual as they listened to the commentaries from the experts. In cooperation with school education, we offered the school tours to affected geosites as the annual education program of learning about the geopark.
To improve the indicated matter of revalidation, we are seeking a geopark story that makes visitors interested in the last year. Not only each working committee and geoguides have shared the keywords, but also the participants in the educational programs have taken the discussions. In addition to that, our council have supported the collaborations with local industry and commerce for the preparation for the Shikoku Seiyo Geopark guidebook, establishment of promotion shops, and branding new special products. On the other hand, we also have some challenges of dealing with both disaster response and geopark promotion. For the future, we are going to share the issue in JGN and make the opportunity to learn our lands how it was formed by using new educational material of disaster prevention.
In order to respond to the situation, we conducted the educational programs named “Seiyo Nature and Culture College” to the people living around the areas for the awareness of their surroundings. In the programs, we conducted lectures and field trip programs with experts who are familiar with local knowledge and geography, train new courses, and teach the participants how to use the geopark. The participants in the field trips had joyful experience of watching the scenery of the areas familiar from usual as they listened to the commentaries from the experts. In cooperation with school education, we offered the school tours to affected geosites as the annual education program of learning about the geopark.
To improve the indicated matter of revalidation, we are seeking a geopark story that makes visitors interested in the last year. Not only each working committee and geoguides have shared the keywords, but also the participants in the educational programs have taken the discussions. In addition to that, our council have supported the collaborations with local industry and commerce for the preparation for the Shikoku Seiyo Geopark guidebook, establishment of promotion shops, and branding new special products. On the other hand, we also have some challenges of dealing with both disaster response and geopark promotion. For the future, we are going to share the issue in JGN and make the opportunity to learn our lands how it was formed by using new educational material of disaster prevention.