Non-Formal Environmental Education in a Vulnerable Region: Insights from a 20-Year Long Engagement in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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.

Non-formal Education for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of the ‘Children in the Wilderness’ Eco-Club Programme in the Zambezi Region

“…As a result, non-formal ESD has had less focus, even though it is an ‘area of growing importance’ according to Buckler and Creech (2014, p. 109). Over recent years, however, this body of literature has been expanding (Calvente et al, 2018; Sultana & Hague, 2019; Wals et al, 2017). In many African nations, the uptake and implementation of ESD, particularly in the formal sector, has been slow.…”

Niveles de participación de niños, niñas y adolescentes en investigaciones de educación ambiental en Hispanoamérica (1999-2019)

“…En el caso específico de la EA, la participación de este segmento ha sido destacada al punto de ser considerada una característica esencial del campo de estudio (Espejel-Rodríguez y Flores-Hernández, 2012;Tréllez, 2015). Esto ha sido matizado por investigaciones empíricas, las que advierten una participación poco protagonista por parte de los NNA en el desarrollo de las actividades educativas ambientales (Calvente, Kharrazi, Kudo, & Savaget, 2018;Matos-De Rojas, Pasek-De Pinto, Peña-Briceño y Briceño, 2018). Así planteada, la EA tiene un doble desafío: por un lado, contribuir al abandono del "antropocentrismo" y las lógicas de producción/consumo capitalistas; y por otro, trabajar las formas de participación adultocéntricas en educación (Bywater, 2014;Lay-Lisboa y Montañes, 2018), las que dificultan el verdadero involucramiento de los NNA en los proyectos y acciones.…”

“…A su vez, estudios de casos y revisiones anteriormente realizadas señalan también que la EANF promueve una mayor participación (Calvente et al, 2018). Así mismo, revisiones sistemáticas acerca de participación de NNA en la educación y en la EA, han permitido constatar que su nivel es más alto en investigaciones que utilizan metodologías cualitativas (González, Hernández-Saca & Artiles, 2017;Green, 2015).…”

Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development in Romania. Teachers’ Perceptions and Recommendations (Ii)

“…EE is crucial for awareness increase towards the necessity of environmental preservation and quality of life improvement, now and for future generations (Severiche-Sierra et al, 2016). EE is essential for the establishment of values, abilities and the promotion of the necessary ethics for SD (Calvente et al, 2018), for achieving SD (Tsekos, 2012), and for biodiversity conservation (Ramados & Poyyamoli, 2011). EE aids in determining attitude changes, thus creating an opportunity for attaining a balance between people and their environment (Severiche-Sierra et al, 2016).…”

“…The school garden is seen as an optimal/favourable place for EE (Dias Rodrigues et al, 2018). Non-formal EE practices can improve gardening abilities, environmental ethics and sustainable food practices (Calvente et al, 2018). Learning activities organised in wooded areas are prime opportunities for forest education as well as EE and ESD .…”