As hortas comunitárias no Programa Comunidade Escola: para além dos muros da unidade escolar

Abstract

School community gardens are part of the category of actions capable of providing environmental, social and cultural benefits for the environments and actors involved. Among these, we can mention the regulation of urban microclimates, food security, encouragement of Environmental Education (EE), support for diversity and resilience of communities. This Dissertation corroborates these statements, and deals with the appropriation of school spaces for the construction of community gardens through the Community School Program, in the years 2020-2021. The objective of this Program is to promote opportunities for community involvement in community activities relating the food cycle and waste, security and food sovereignty. It establishes links between people, communities, knowledge and formal and non-formal knowledge about garden care, favoring ownership and relationships. This study, with a qualitative and exploratory methodological focus, had the general objective of investigating the potential of proposals for Environmental Education actions and initiatives in the Community School Program, in the years 2020-2021, in school community gardens. Field research was carried out to collect data through questionnaires, with teachers from different curricular components, semi-structured interviews with teachers from the Community School Program, and residents who began to actively participate in community gardens. The results demonstrated a diversity of perspectives according to EA currents, highlighting those that are more frequent and immediate, such as recursive and naturalistic. However, at the same time, there was the presence of interdisciplinary and transversal actions and initiatives on sócio-environmental issues, food security, the importance of vegetable gardens in school spaces and the knowledge of residents and research participants. The final considerations of the Dissertation refer to the achievement of the general objective and the consolidation of the EA research space achieved by the researcher.