Uso de trilha ecológica como ferramenta de estímulo à educação ambiental e conservação do cerrado

Abstract

The use of ecological trails emerges as educational tools that allow the discussion of environmental issues, at the same time that they give the student the opportunity to recognize themselves and integrate themselves into the environment that surrounds them, thus feeling part of the ecosystem, and responsible for its conservation. In this context, this work aimed to build and evaluate the potential of an ecological trail as a tool for Environmental Education, as well as for the construction of knowledge and attitudes related to the Cerrado biome. The construction of the trail took place within the Federal Institute of Piauí (IFPI - Uruçuí), in a preserved area of approximately 500 meters. In all, 15 trees make up the ecological trail, and were duly identified and registered. After the trail was created, first-year students from the aforementioned institution were invited to participate and answered a questionnaire (Q1) containing open and closed questions. Soon after the application, a field class took place using the ecological trail. Then, the students answered a second questionnaire (Q2), which sought, among other things, to analyze the knowledge of students built from the trail, as well as their perceptions for the use of this tool in the school context. The results indicate that although field classes are infrequent in the students' daily school life, they allow significant learning, and the construction of an ecological trail is an excellent teaching strategy for discussions related to the importance of the Cerrado, and its conservation. Finally, we highlight the need for greater interest on the part of teachers and the school in the organization of field classes, mainly due to the ability of this resource to work on issues related to EE, and to keep students' attention. We also emphasize that studies that evaluate the use of ecological trails, or of different types of field classes should be amplified, in order to investigate the efficiency and applicability of these methodologies in other educational contexts