Environmental education

Environmental education is an ongoing educational process that promotes the development of knowledge, values, skills and attitudes aimed at understanding the relationships between society and nature. More than simply addressing forest conservation, this approach encourages critical reflection on the ecological, social, economic, cultural, and political issues that affect people’s quality of life and the preservation of natural resources.

The concept gained international prominence from the 1970s onward through conferences promoted by multilateral organizations, which increasingly recognized education as a strategic tool for addressing the global environmental crisis. One of the landmarks of this movement was the Tbilisi Conference, held in 1977, which defined environmental education as a process designed to develop the knowledge, values and skills needed to support responsible decision-making regarding the environment and society.

Nowadays, environmental education has been associated with the development of soft skills, such as critical thinking, real problem solving, collaboration and socio-environmental responsibility. Rather than focusing solely on topics such as recycling biodiversity or climate change, it seeks to connect these issues to students’ daily lives, encouraging research, community participation and creative solution building. 

This perspective aligns with active learning methodologies, in which students play a central role in the construction of knowledge. Projects on waste management, efficient use of resources, school gardens or water quality monitoring are references of practices that integrate  curricular content with hands-on experiences capable of promoting  social and environmental transformation.