The awakening of belonging and awareness through non-formal environmental education

a lived experience

Abstract

Nowadays, it is essential that citizens are aware of the place where they live and their environmental situation, as well as understanding that everyone develops a sense of belonging, considering that an inhabitant is also part of the environment and the way in which it affects and is affected for this. Thus, this experience report portrays the results of activities developed from the Pró-Mar Project, which is dedicated to the practice of non-formal Environmental Education, through actions with citizens on the streets, their interaction with the environment and awareness actions. Thus, the objective is to understand feelings of belonging and awareness about the amplitude of the environment identified in the city of Capão da Canoa (RS), on the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul, through the problematization of pollution caused by waste discarded on the beach. To this end, actions such as beach cleaning, conversation circles, and recreational activities were carried out, which allowed for a behavioral analysis of citizens in relation to the city where they live or vacation. From the analysis it was possible to infer that citizens are curious about the environment in which they live, however, there is a lack of information vehicles that present this environment to them. In view of this, it can be concluded that the feeling of belonging is inherent in each citizen, however, the importance of proposing actions that awaken such a feeling is highlighted.