O ENSINO DE ECOLOGIA NA FLORESTA AMAZÔNICA POR MEIO DE ATIVIDADES PRÁTICAS

Abstract

The Brazilian Army has been a great explorer on the borders of Brazil, in the last five years in partnership with UFAM, where it has taught to undergraduate students in Science: Biology and Chemistry in the field practice of the discipline General and Amazonian Ecology, instructions for adaptation to the jungle in order to offer students practical contact with the theoretical concepts of ecology in the largest Brazilian biome, the Amazon. For three days in a row, academics go through the experience of entering the forest of terra firma in the forest. Initially, they undergo Health Inspection with Army doctors and participate in a Lecture on the Amazon Forest at the Vitória Régia Auditorium in Tabatinga. They learn to assemble the jungle network for the night; instructions on obtaining water and fire; snakebiting: snake identification and capture techniques; Amazonian culture: folklore legends of the Amazon; swimming techniques; visit to the Zoobotanical Park of the Solimões Border Command / 8th Army Jungle Infantry Battalion (CFSol) in Tabatinga; instructions on improvised and permanent shelters, climbing techniques on pecan trees; characterization of life in the jungle: tracking Amazonian animals and fauna and navigation technique in the forest using a compass. From 2013 to 2017 a total of 61 UFAM students participated in these activities. With the practice, it is possible to review concepts of ecology to understand the peculiarities of the Amazon biome. In cases of accidents and the individual has to face the jungle environment, it is possible to purchase plant foods, such as: açaí, bacaba, biriba, camu-camu, ingá, genipapo, noni, pupunha, tucumã, patoá, cubiu, buriti, cocoa , cupuaçu and Brazil nuts and fauna comprising: fish: bodó curimatã, jiju, judiá, mapará, pacu, piau, tucunaré, bacu and pacu which are rich in proteins and vitamins important for the maintenance of life. In addition, students learned about the natural medicine used by people in the Amazon such as: acapurana, andiroba, olives, carapanaúba, Brazil nuts, boot vines, coirama, copaíba, jatobá, mururé, poor old man, stone break, nail cat and chichuacha. The field practice was very beneficial for the students, as it made it possible to contextualize the contents learned in the theory. Army instructors passed on experiences necessary for survival in the jungle, where 100% satisfaction was noted among the participants who responded to an evaluation form for the field practice who agree that it contributed to the development of specific skills for professional practice, for to strengthen the theory / practice relationship, assisting in the development of relative practical skills established in the discipline plan and consider that it was valuable for their training. The practical activities carried out by the Brazilian Army for UFAM students bring a very significant return, as it allows an excellent contextualization with the Amazonian reality, implementation of the practice that favors an interdisciplinary approach between the disciplines of Botany, Zoology, Geography, Meteorology and Anthropology, interaction between academics, teachers and military personnel and acquisition of practical knowledge about fauna and flora conservation.

Keywords: Education; Interdisciplinary; Survival in the jungle.