Lazer e educação ambiental em Nova Iguaçu - RJ: Estudo de caso do projeto "Eles queimam, nós plantamos", do instituto de educação ambiental e ecoturismo

Abstract

Located in the Metropolitan Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, in the portion known as Baixada Fluminense, the city of Nova Iguaçu has more than half of its area occupied by Conservation Units with remnants of the Atlantic Forest biome, and still suffers from the resulting losses the climate crisis, and human action in green areas that sometimes destroys part of the vegetation with fires and various pollution. Considering that inadequate practices frequently affect the northern area of the Gericinó Mendanha Environmental Protection Area/Nova Iguaçu Municipal Natural Park, the work site of the project “They Queimam Nós Plantamos” of the Environmental Education and Ecotourism Institute” (Instituto EAE), and , based on the assumption that the practice of environmental education and leisure can be allies in raising awareness among residents and visitors to the area in favor of a more balanced environment, this study sought to identify aspects related to leisure mobilized in the Institute's actions and also its relationships with education, tourism and the city of Nova Iguaçu. An exploratory qualitative research was carried out, after a bibliographical survey and narrative review of the bibliography, visits were made to the headquarters of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), and to the project's actions as a means of participant observation and semi-structured interviews with members of the Institute. EAE, and actors involved, designing a case study on the project. It was identified that the “They Burn We Plant” project mobilizes aspects of leisure, especially with regard to the playful dimension, as a motivating and facilitating agent for the practice of tourist leisure and visitation to the northern area of the conservation unit. Environmental education is present in all stages of the project and in Non-Governmental Organization projects that correlate with “They Burn We Plant”, which has already resulted in a change in the attitude of residents and visitors to the natural park. Even though there are material difficulties in executing the project, the EAE Institute, as an agent of organized civil society, is able, through a network of partnership and cooperation, to promote public policies aimed at collective well-being through reforestation, related activities and events.