Pontinha de cerrado: uma construção participativa para a educação socioambiental transformadora

Abstract

Transformative Environmental Education serves the social purpose of provoking reflections on local realities, critical thinking, and autonomous social transformation, recognizing the complexity of social organization and the specificities of individuals and their groups. This approach goes beyond the mere transmission of ecological knowledge and aligns with the Freirean conception that knowledge construction should stem from the daily experiences of the learners, seeking an emotional connection between the actors and environmental themes for the emancipation of individuals and the impact on social structures.

Rural quilombola communities maintain a deep connection with their territory and the natural environment that composes it, especially due to their long history of land occupation, cultural resistance, and the preservation of traditional practices involving natural resources. The lived experience and intergenerational transmission of ethno-knowledge contribute to the empirical construction of knowledge throughout the growth of quilombola children. Thus, Environmental Education aimed at this audience should be based on planning attentive to their cultural and social specificities, including their knowledge and worldview.

Historically, Quilombo da Pontinha (Paraopeba, MG) has faced various social and environmental pressures related to the invasion of its territory and the predatory use of natural resources by outsiders, with consequences that fall upon the community. Therefore, the “Pontinha de Cerrado” Project was conceived as a contribution to the formation of individuals aware of the local scenario, considering the historical context of territorial violation and environmental degradation, as well as the rich legacy of ancestral local knowledge. This was achieved through multiple educational approaches that fostered participants' connection with the theme and prompted reflections on the local socio-environmental reality.

The project was developed with the participation of the pedagogical staff of Dr. Teófilo Nascimento Municipal School, and various strategies and methods were applied. The sessions with students were designed to include priority themes representing relevant issues in the territory: valorization of the Cerrado, waste disposal and basic sanitation, considering the need to raise awareness about these topics.

Initially, dialogues were held with the teachers for rapport-building, needs assessment, and action planning. Throughout the 2024 school year, multiple sessions were held with students from the 1st and 2nd periods of Early Childhood Education and the 1st to 9th grades of Elementary School. In these sessions, a variety of strategies were implemented to adapt the discussed themes to the involved age groups. The methods used included: theater, theatrical games, discussion circles, games and play, brainstorming, exhibition of didactic models, direct contact with animals, storytelling, and an external visit.

To understand the project's effects on the school and students, teachers were interviewed before the start of activities and after the project's conclusion. Additionally, to analyze the project's impact on students' environmental awareness, drawings were requested from 3rd to 5th-grade Elementary School students at the beginning and end of the project.

The project aimed to introduce playful, interdisciplinary activities into the school context, moving away from conventional classroom logic. These were carried out with accessible resources and materials, covering all grades served by the Quilombo school, with language adjustments and strategy adaptations for different age groups. This work includes a discussion on the methods used throughout the project and the effects achieved in this endeavor.