Satoyama Forest Management Game: A Learning Support System for Vegetation Succession over 300 Years to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract: Education on biodiversity and environmental protection of forests is increasingly important to achieve sustainable development goals. In Japan, there Satochi-Satoyama (“Satoyama” means “Mountains with ecosystems affected by humans as a result of settlements and neighboring villages” in Japan.) is a perfect place to learn about biodiversity and environmental conservation of forests. Its environment could be enriched through human intervention. In order to maintain harmony between people and nature, we need to learn about Satochi-Satoyama. The authors developed a learning support system called “Satoyama forest management game” that enables learning about biodiversity and environmental conservation of forests using the Satoyama area of Satochi as the theme. By playing the game, learners can learn about vegetation succession and the management of Satoyama. In this study, we conducted an experiment for elementary school students to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed game. The evaluation results revealed the effectiveness of the Satoyama forest management game.