Case report: vegetable gardens in rural schools and environmental education

Sylvia Helena Espíndola Salles,Elisa Mitsuko Aoyama,Giovanna Brito Lins,Marcos Roberto Furlan,Maria Lúcia Paulino Silva Sousa,Adriana Mascarette Labinas

doi:10.4136/ambi-agua.2566

Sylvia Helena Espíndola Salles, Elisa Mitsuko Aoyama + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4136/ambi-agua.2566

Copy DOI

Abstract

In schools, a vegetable garden can enable the development of various pedagogical activities in environmental education and food reeducation, as it can unite theory and practice in a contextualized way. The objective of the present work was to implant gardens in rural municipal schools, analyze their potentialities as a didactic resource for the disciplines of elementary school and verify if they can contribute to environmental education and food reeducation. The gardens were planted at schools located in the rural area of the municipality of Taubaté, State of São Paulo. In addition to activities with teachers and students, there was also a demonstration of agricultural practices to community producers. After conducting vegetable garden-related activities with students, an analysis of the interaction with other subjects in the curriculum was carried out. As main results, it was observed that, in addition to connecting the theoretical concepts of the disciplines to the daily lives of students and the community, a vegetable garden at school assists in the development of content in a multidisciplinary way and promotes critical formation of students and teachers regarding the use of environmental and food resources. Observation of the participants related to the gardening activities supports the conclusion that the garden in the school environment significantly facilitated the development of themes related to environmental education and food reeducation.

Highlights

The family environment and the school are privileged places for environmental education practices
A vegetable garden enables the development of various educational activities in environmental education and food reeducation, as it unites theory and practice in a contextualized way
The project was developed at José Marcondes de Moura Municipal School of Early Childhood Education (EMEIEF), Monjolinho District and José Rubens Wauner de Campos Municipal School of Primary Education (EMEF), located in the Pouso Frio District, municipality of Taubaté, State of São Paulo

Summary

Introduction

The family environment and the school are privileged places for environmental education practices. Environmental issues must be addressed in both places, and these are favorable environments in which to develop nutritional education strategies, because, in addition to serving schoolchildren, they can involve the family and the community (WHO, 2006). Bragato et al (2018) highlighted the importance of the teacher as an instrument to train citizens with the capacity to develop critical visions and to transform the environment where they live. These authors added that extension activities have great value, because with them communities can participate and work with themes of their daily lives. The vegetable garden strengthens relations by promoting collective work and cooperation among the social agents involved, and helps in the teaching-learning process (Morgado and Santos, 2006)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion