ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the Tappo Minami Uonuma School of Life and the Environment, which was established in 2007 by Ecoplus in cooperation with villages in the mountainous areas in Niigata prefecture to explore the educational values of rural communities. It provides an overview of some of the problems faced by rural communities in Japan and a discussion of the importance of place and place-based education, before introducing a number of flagship Tappo project programmes. Since the inauguration of the Tappo project in 2007, Ecoplus's undertaking of place-based education has expanded to make the organisation an example to other organisations and communities working across Japan to revitalise community. The chapter concludes with that place-based education programmes in rural communities, such as the Tappo project, can lead residents and visitors alike to reconsider values that promise to revitalise all communities by placing sustainability at the centre of society.
