Abstract
Environmental education is essential in the diffusion of the ethics, values, and skills that are critical to sustainable transformations. This paper presents the experience of non-formal environmental education approaches held in schools in the Petrópolis region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between 1997–2016. This paper adds to the literature on the relevant approaches and effectives of non-formal environmental education, especially in the vulnerable areas of low and middle-income regions that face critical environmental challenges. Specifically, to set up the context, this paper intends to firstly convey the commonly identified environmental sustainability challenges that the communities of the Petrópolis region are facing. Secondly, this report aims to convey key insights on how non-formal environmental education practices can strengthen gardening skills, environmental ethics, and sustainable food practices. These approaches have the potential to enhance the capacity of students toward sustainable transformations through encouraging them to be engaged with local social-environmental challenges. This paper adds new insights to the growing literature on non-formal environmental education, and it is hoped to inspire new educational approaches among sustainability educators.
Highlights
The advancement toward sustainable development goals requires more attention to education, especially among children and young adults
To develop non-formal environmental education in the schools, an ecological walk was initially organized by inviting a group of students
This paper presents a descriptive summary of the non-formal environmental education experiences in more than 20 schools in vulnerable communities of the Petrópolis region in Brazil
Summary
The advancement toward sustainable development goals requires more attention to education, especially among children and young adults. In reality, the pedagogical culture of the classroom tends to be centered on the teacher and follows rigid content guidelines directed by the state or national governments [2] In this context, there are very few opportunities for interdisciplinary studies, practices, and deeper interpretations with local experiences that are relevant to environmental ethics and practical sustainability skills in formal educational settings [3]. School gardening and ecological walks are considered promising approaches of such participatory environmental education These non-formal educational approaches help students acquire basic knowledge about climatic conditions, types of plants, and the environmental and economic realities of their local community area. It is argued that school gardens and ecological walks can be an effective instrument for childhood development as it enables children to benefit from the emotional healing powers of nature, especially in economically and socially vulnerable regions [8,9]
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