Jovens como protagonistas na educação ambiental: um olhar sobre as aves urbanas de Fortaleza

Abstract

Youth protagonism is a fundamental element for building a more participatory and engaged Msociety. However, it remains one of the greatest challenges for educators, who face difficulties in proposing and implementing actions that effectively inspire and mobilize young people, fostering in them a sense of responsibility and the ability to act autonomously and critically in the face of contemporary challenges. In this context, Environmental Education (EE) emerges as a promising tool to provide young people with the opportunity to actively engage in socio-environmental issues. To achieve this, it is essential to empower and listen to youth, understanding their space and reality. The city of Fortaleza, in turn, is home to a significant diversity of urban birds, which hold considerable potential as a resource for EE. With this in mind, this study aimed to train the monitors of Cuca Ambiental on the impacts faced by urban birdlife, with the goal of developing informational materials for the audience served by CUCA, as a tool for transformation to foster conscious attitudes and, consequently, to promote youth protagonism within the program. Using the investigative method of action research, various EE activities were planned and carried out, aimed at equipping participants to actively engage in community awareness and the creation of informational materials. To assess the impacts on protagonism and the general knowledge gained from the educational activities, two data collection instruments were used: a fanzine workshop and an online questionnaire. Based on a survey of the main impacts on birdlife caused by residents of each participant's neighborhood, two central issues were discussed during the activities: the predation of birds by domestic animals and the illegal keeping of wild birds. These discussions sparked curiosity and interest among participants in developing mitigation strategies. Thus, the research not only encouraged the protagonism of the participants and transformed the researcher's perspective as an educator and biologist, but also resulted in the production of an EE guide, designed to assist other educators in developing activities focused on the conservation of urban birds.