What's the Ambiental Education?

What Does Environmental education Mean

Environmental education is the programmatic training of individuals who are aware and responsible for their ecological environment , endowed with the knowledge , capacities and attitudes necessary to understand and solve the environmental problems of their community .

It is the main mechanism available in society to form generations that are more respectful of the enormous natural heritage of planet Earth , that is, of its biological diversity , and more efficient in their modes of consumption. It grew out of environmental and sustainability warnings that, since 1960, have emerged from different perspectives and communities.

For this, environmental education starts from the idea of incorporating content relevant to environmental preservation and responsible consumption into formal and official educational programs . In addition, additional training plans can be offered to facilitate environmental awareness work.

These tasks can be carried out by governmental, private or independent entities.

Functions of environmental education

Environmental education has a unique and key function: to sensitize the population regarding the necessary environmental awareness . With the transmission of ecological knowledge and perspectives to future generations, a sustainable and ecologically friendly perspective in their worldviews can be ensured.

Ultimately, the purpose of this education is to preserve our planet and its delicate biotic balances , thus guaranteeing us as much as possible the only home of life as we know it.

Objectives of environmental education

As established in the 1975 Belgrano Charter, the objectives of environmental education must be:

• Provide the population with greater sensitivity and awareness regarding environmental care.
• To promote a full understanding of the environment as a system , together with its contexts, related problems and critical responsibility for the presence of humanity in it.
• Deepen social and ecological values .
• Help produce the answers necessary to solve environmental dilemmas.
• Promote the mechanisms for evaluating measures and programs of environmental education itself, based on the political, social and economic characteristics, etc., of the local population .
• Promote ecologically responsible attitudes and active and urgent participation in the debate on the environment.
• Induce responsible consumption and the adoption of respectful habits towards nature .
• Distinguish and recognize the causes of the main ecological problems in the world.
• Recognize the importance of the impact of different human economic models on nature.

Environmental education tools

Environmental education has many tools and strategies, of which the educator himself is the most important . Their commitment to the moral, intellectual and emotional formation of the students accompanies the environmental content: they will be the main integrators between the individual behavior of the student and the known environmental problems .

Similarly, today's multimedia is an unavoidable resource in this type of training. The cinema (and especially the denunciation documentaries) tend to have a high impact on the sensitivity of young people, as well as music , advertising , or field trip activities.

Importance of environmental education

Environmental education is, in the long run, the only really effective tool to preserve the planet from the consequences of human activity.

No other measure will be as fundamental as training in this type of values and responsibilities for future generations, who will be in charge of decision-making in due course. It could be said that it is the strongest bet for the ecological future of our species and our planet.