Environmental perception and education for teachers and students in the surroundings of the Ecological Reserve of Caetés, Metropolitan Region of Recife, Pernambuco

Abstract

Environmental perception studies have been included in management projects that seek nature conservation. The main objective of this work was to eva¬luate students’ and teachers’ environmental perceptions regarding a natural protected area (Caetés Ecological Station) that is situated in the surroundings of their schools, in order to support an program aimed at its conser¬vation, which is a requisite to assure the conservation of that protected area. In the first stage of the study, stu¬dents were asked to write essays and to draw mental maps about their place of residence. In contrast, teachers answered a questionnaire about environmental issues related to their teaching experience. In the second stage, teachers attended a lecture and were guided by the authors on a tour around the ecological station. Students’ essays and drawings showed a manifest content of unveiled conscience, not necessarily linked to the presence of a protected area in their neighborhood. In their answers to the questionnaires, the teachers demonstrated little knowledge and interaction regarding the ecological station. However, after the lecture-and-tour activity, the teachers suggested that the political pedagogical project of their schools should include environmental educa¬tion activities at the Caetés Ecological Station. There was a cognitive change among the teachers, since they demonstrated the intention of seeking a deeper and closer relationship with the local ecological station.

Keywords

• mental maps
• perception
• protected areas