Formulação de um guia botânico didático como ferramenta de educação ambiental no Centro de Estudos Ambientais Costeiros (CEAC), como espaço de ensino não formal

Abstract

Several factors influence and complicate the process of learning botany as a curricular content in the biology discipline, as this content is often seen as a descriptive science, full of memorizable terms that are empty of meaning, in addition to the deficit in the training of botany professionals. teaching on this topic. This practice can lead to botanical blindness, which can be harmful to the flora. In education, the approach is essential to enhance teaching about plants and their diversity. When the objective is to combine school theory with practice, non-formal spaces are great tools to support learning. This work aims to create a Botanical Guide to the Pacoti River Estuary Trails as didactic support in environmental education activities of the Marine Environmental Education Program (PEAM), to encourage the search for knowledge about plants combined with a non-formal space of teaching, the Center for Coastal Environmental Studies (CEAC), and how they can help in learning botany. The Botanical Guide was developed on the trails of CEAC, a Labomar - UFC research center located within the APA of the Rio Pacoti. To create the guide, the photographic survey was carried out throughout the year, taking into account the dry and rainy seasons. The species were identified with the support of material related to the board forest, mangrove and apicum environment, in addition to professional support in plant taxonomy. The key species were chosen according to whether they were easy to observe on the trail, had a popular name or were important. The layout includes: popular and scientific name, a descriptive text of the species and informative icons about its importance. The guide was completed with 52 pages, with 46 species recorded in the three environments. Several plants presented environmental, medicinal, economic, ornamental and risk importance. These importances, as well as the description of the plants, create theoretical frameworks during the practice of environmental education, helping to give meaning to their ideas about the flora, mainly regional, based on the recognition of the plants that occur on the trail. Several plants presented in the guide contain information that is useful to support critical pedagogical practice and encourage botanical perception.