Environmental educational practices in native biodiversity

Report of an experience with a public school in an area of socio-environmental vulnerability in São Paulo, SP

Abstract

The article proposes to report on the development and discuss the results of a university extension project carried out among undergraduate and graduate students in Architecture and Urbanism and students from the 2nd stage of basic education in a public school on the outskirts of São Paulo city. The project aimed at sharing knowledge and practices regarding urban afforestation, tree species, and native birdlife. The initiative is justified by the understanding that planning and actions focused on sustainable urban design benefit from the participation of populations, while also revaluing ecosystems and integrating them into society has a real impact on local life, strengthening the sense of recognition and potentially providing lasting economic and environmental benefits. The activities involved literature review on native bird and tree species, holding discussion meetings with the school community, giving lectures on Brazilian flora and the animals attracted to them, and planting seedlings of native trees in the school's open area to start a garden. As a result of the project, based on the identified challenges, it is argued that environmental education practices involving the school community, related to the afforestation of native species, can be understood as: (I) a strategy for counter-colonization of knowledge; (II) a possibility for exploring multisensorial experiences; (III) a gesture of intergenerational and planetary responsibility; and (IV) the building of alliances and practicing the common.