Parque Mãe Bonifácia : um espaço de saber ambiental no contexto de uma área urbana protegida, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso

Abstract

Environmental perception must be a constant in the everyday life of the users of Mãe Bonifácia Park, a State Conservation Unit. The park is located in the city of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The main objective of this research is to comprehend the environmental perception of some high school students, on a protected urban area as well as, the use of this area as a leisure space by its users. Also, identify the activities worked on environmental education by the student group. The research is based on the fact that the environmental education activities have relevance in the ethnic and integrity formation of the students and park users. This research has quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Forty freshmen students from Liceu Cuiabano High School, Cuiabá-MT, and one hundred regular users of the park were the subject of the studies. An open and closed questionnaire was used as a tool to retrieve information data from the users. Analyzing the collected data it was possible to state that the student’s environmental perception, in means of identifying environmental education, is very superficial but relevant if presented as a day-to-day experience. These students elected the park as a potential to their environmental education practices and would like to be there more often with more focused studies and related to subjects worked in the classroom. On the other side, the users of the park see the park as a safe place with an average infra-structure, ported with a variety of attractions which promote the practice of physical exercises.