This article describes the evaluation of a teaching programme in Japanese secondary science classes, which introduces the perspective of deep ecology, reflecting the traditional Japanese view of nature. The study found that meditative activities in nature promoted students' sense of identifying with nature, with an underpinning factor of 'self-realisation', and that students who had previously identified with nature were more likely to engage with deep meditative questioning. By encouraging students to consider the relationship between people and nature, from a scientific perspective but also from an environmental ethics perspective based on traditional Japanese views of nature, students' environmental ethics and physical and mental health could all be improved.