Knowledge of forests and their representation among urban children (elementary school children in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro): considerations about environmental education

RESUMO

The relation of the urban child with the forest environment has been investigated in a health education project aimed at primary schools in order to understand the child's knowledge and feelings towards this environment. Among the students who stated having visited a forest, 35,3 per cent from the North Zone (NZ) and 37.5 per cent from the South Zone (SZ) failed to characterize it adequately, mentioning instead, leisure sites in the urban area such as the Zoo or parks. Among the students who described a forest, 44.1 per cent (NZ) and 47.9 per cent (SZ) refer to the occurrence of the trees and animals in the environment. Out of these 49.3 per cent (NZ) and 61.2 per cent (SZ) refer positively to what they had experienced. The negative records are rare and generally attached to fear of animals, which demonstrates insufficient knowledge of the national fauna. The previous comprehension of the students'knowledge and their relation with the natural environment enables us to re-address the question of environmental education, raising questions which may stimulate more participation and constructive action by children.