Goyang Special City (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) is actively promoting environmental education for citizens and future generations to respond to the climate crisis and achieve carbon neutrality. It operates systematic education courses for each life cycle from infants to adults, and is expanding sustainable practices with Goyang-type environmental protection programs.
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[Korean Today] Goyang City, Leading Environmental Education for Citizens and Future Generations © Reporter Seung-Joo Ji |
Goyang City is significantly expanding environmental education with the goal of overcoming the climate crisis caused by global warming and achieving carbon neutrality. Through this, it focuses on establishing values for environmental protection and inducing voluntary practices from citizens.
Establishing an environmental education system for each life cycle
Goyang City has established a life cycle environmental education system that covers all ages from infants to adults. It provides customized education by age, such as seeds for infants, sprouts for elementary school students, trees for teenagers, and climate environment schools for adults. In particular, the climate environment school for adults received a lot of attention, with a cumulative 1,475 people participating in the educational course held from July to August last year.
The city was designated as a training institution for natural environment interpreters by the Ministry of Environment and has trained a total of 330 citizens as environmental experts as of last year. It is also operating a lively ecological education program linked to the Ramsar Janghang Wetland.
Development and certification of cat-type environmental education program
Goyang City has established its own “Goyang City Basic Environmental Education Plan” for systematic environmental education, and is promoting various detailed plans based on this, such as strengthening the foundation of environmental education, linking it with public education, and expanding social environmental education.
In particular, the self-developed Goyang-type environmental education programs such as “Goyang City Seed Climate Environment School,” “I am in the ecosystem!” and “Earth! We are so similar” received excellent program certification from the Ministry of Environment and achieved results with 4,978 participants last year. In addition, the effectiveness of environmental education is further multiplied by education linked to the school curriculum.
Expanding environmental education in special education curriculum
Goyang City is also actively promoting environmental education for students with intellectual disabilities. The program for special education students called “A World We Live In Together, an Earth We Must Protect Together” includes experiential activities that help students develop environmental sensitivity and fine motor skills. This program was selected as an excellent program by the Ministry of Environment last year and is scheduled to be expanded further this year.
Establishing a foundation for sustainable environmental education
Goyang City plans to strengthen environmental education for local professional organizations and city officials and encourage voluntary practice expansion in the local community as this is the last year of the 1st Environmental Education Plan (20212025). In addition, the city will actively reflect citizens’ opinions to establish the 2nd Environmental Education Plan (20262030) to begin in 2026 and continue to promote citizen-empathized environmental education.
Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang City said, “Overcoming the climate crisis is an essential task for the survival of humanity,” and added, “We will expand our positive influence and create a sustainable future through environmental policies implemented together with citizens.”
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