Workshop on Biodiversity Conducted at Ueda Nishi High School UNMP (9th)

On September 23, 2025, Associate Professor Sakie Kodama and Professor Hiroshi Hakoyama from the Institute for Freshwater Biology, Nagano University, conducted a workshop titled “Thinking About Biodiversity – A Workshop with the Institute for Freshwater Biology, Nagano University” as part of the 9th Ueda Nishi Mind Project (UNMP) held at Ueda Nishi High School.

The workshop aimed to help students deepen their understanding of biodiversity conservation and invasive species control while developing scientific inquiry skills through hands-on learning. Participants conducted fieldwork in the Chikuma River, collecting and observing planarians (Dugesia japonica)—a freshwater species known as an indicator of clean water.

Following an ecological introduction by Associate Professor Kodama, students collected planarians in the river and then observed them under microscopes at the IFB. They also performed flow cytometry to examine ploidy variation, discovering multiple individuals with different ploidy levels within the same population—a fascinating finding for the students. Through this experience, they learned the importance of biodiversity conservation and gained a deeper appreciation of scientific observation and analysis.