In a context of societies that are increasingly urbanized and disconnected from nature, the earth, and the environment in general, it is very important to put on the table the value of knowledge regarding our planet and its surroundings, as well as the need to take care of it and respect it. Environmental education is precisely this, it is pedagogy about the environment. It is to educate, train and raise awareness about how the activity of human beings affects the planet and, conversely, about how nature influences people and how much we depend on it.
Beyond that, environmental education seeks to explain that we are just one more species of living beings that are part of the Earth, and that we must take care of it in order to continue living on it. Just as it teaches the functioning of natural processes and cycles, it also teaches awareness about the planet’s resources and, therefore, about its physical limits. At the center of a climate crisis, environmental education is key : we need it to rethink our lifestyles, our consumption and production… In short, to make us rethink the way in which we understand our relationship with the planet as a product to be exploited in order to return to understand it as our natural habitat.
As early as 1987, at the International Environmental Education and Training Congress held in Moscow , environmental education was defined as a process in which people “become aware of their environment and learn the knowledge, values, skills, experience and also the determination that enables them to act, individually and collectively, in the resolution of present and future environmental problems”. From the National Center for Environmental Education (CENEA) they consider that it is a tool that allows us to better interpret the world and that we need to be able to understand the planet we inhabit.
The role of environmental education
In a context of societies that are increasingly urbanized and disconnected from nature, the earth, and the environment in general, it is very important to put on the table the value of knowledge regarding our planet and its surroundings, as well as the need to take care of it and respect it. Environmental education is precisely this, it is pedagogy about the environment. It is to educate, train and raise awareness about how the activity of human beings affects the planet and, conversely, about how nature influences people and how much we depend on it.
Beyond that, environmental education seeks to explain that we are just one more species of living beings that are part of the Earth, and that we must take care of it in order to continue living on it. Just as it teaches the functioning of natural processes and cycles, it also teaches awareness about the planet’s resources and, therefore, about its physical limits. At the center of a climate crisis, environmental education is key : we need it to rethink our lifestyles, our consumption and production… In short, to make us rethink the way in which we understand our relationship with the planet as a product to be exploited in order to return to understand it as our natural habitat.
As early as 1987, at the International Environmental Education and Training Congress held in Moscow , environmental education was defined as a process in which people “become aware of their environment and learn the knowledge, values, skills, experience and also the determination that enables them to act, individually and collectively, in the resolution of present and future environmental problems”. From the National Center for Environmental Education (CENEA) they consider that it is a tool that allows us to better interpret the world and that we need to be able to understand the planet we inhabit.
Children’s environmental education
However, despite the fact that environmental education is important at all ages, it is especially essential in childhood, so that from childhood all people can have a more complete vision of how the world works. And the truth is that, thanks to improvements in the educational plans regarding this subject, it is gradually achieving that it is increasingly present in the school and institute curricula from earlier in the day.
Some of the key factors of ecological pedagogy in childhood and youth is that it fosters interest in the environment, nature and the planet. It also causes a certain adaptive and learning capacity to develop earlier (and more efficiently) with respect to the environment that surrounds us and in which we inhabit. In addition, like other branches of education, it encourages individual critical thinking, communication for the development of solutions and creative initiatives.
And there is something else, a question that cannot be ignored: making a question of responsibility towards the planet grow from childhood, facilitating and promoting the ecological responsibility of entire families. Surely we all know some people whose young children, nephews or cousins have pressured them to recycle waste correctly because they have been taught to do so at school or have been criticized for not turning off the water while washing or brushing their teeth. These older people will probably be critical and aware of their environmental implications. And, although something more than individual actions is needed for a change, this generates a more conscious and committed society in the future.
Objectives of environmental pedagogy
Among the various aims and objectives of environmental education, from the most general to the most specific, we can highlight some of them:
- Sensitize and raise awareness about caring for the environment
- Have a basic understanding of the environment as a whole and the relationship of human beings with it
- Acquire awareness of the responsibility that comes with inhabiting an environment
- Foster interest in maintaining continuous learning and developing social values intrinsic to caring for the planet
- Practice and develop personal skills, both individually and collectively, necessary to deal with environmental problems resulting from climate change
- Understand, value and evaluate the environmental education measures that are presented from social organizations, public institutions and private entities, and even promote them.
- Carry out changes in habits towards more sustainable and respectful lifestyles with people and the environment, as well as encourage close circles to do so.
Examples of environmental training
But environmental education is not only done through the classroom, it can also be done through other educational methods. We highlight, for example, the educational project of FUHEM , a non-profit foundation focused on training and research on climate issues with a focus on social justice. In addition to transferring ecosocial education to the classrooms of the centers where they teach, they have open and free teaching materials , resources that anyone can access through their website.
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge also offers a series of resources for environmental education. Among them, the Environmental Education Resource Guide , published in 2021, stands out, which includes a large number of titles of literary works, didactic and playful tools, manuals, communication and participation guides, collaborative projects, historical documents, reflections, innovations, materials audiovisuals and even mobile applications.
Another good way to learn about the environment and educate yourself on climate issues is to read . In addition, this allows each person to choose from a wide variety of works with content made by specialized professionals, and to do so with the pace and intensity that each one prefers or needs. But not only reading books can provide us with the environmental education we need. We can also watch movies , documentaries, short films, informative videos , follow accounts that publish educational content on social networks , listen to podcasts, radio programs… And a long etcetera.
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