Tent of the senses: A proposal to connect children with nature using native seeds
Empathy; belonging; experiencing Nature; Environmental Education; Human Ecology; restoration based on education
The growth of urban areas, modern living standards, the lack of green spaces, and the use of digital entertainment are factors that have played a significant role in the process of disconnection between children and nature. This gap has influenced the way children experience and relate to the environment. However, it is important to recognize that contact with nature and natural elements, such as plants, animals, and outdoor environments, can play a fundamental role in children's development, generating a sense of empathy, belonging, and connection with the natural world. This relationship of belonging can contribute to children's emotional, cognitive, social, and ethical development. The objective of this qualitative research is to understand how children in the early years of Elementary School I create a connection with nature through the application of pedagogical workshops with native seeds of the Cerrado from the perspective of Human Ecology. In addition, the study seeks to examine possible variations in the connection with the natural environment between children from urban and rural contexts. This study will be conducted in the municipality of Riachão das Neves, Bahia, with children in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades of Elementary School I of the municipal education system. Question and answer activities will be developed: Nature game (diagnosis), pedagogical workshops with native seeds using drawings, a field notebook called “My and our memories” and stories told by the children. The data will be systematized and categorized according to Bardin's content analysis (2016), and the drawings produced will be evaluated according to the children's graphic representations of themselves and the different manifestations of nature. It is expected that the pedagogical workshops applied with native seeds will awaken empathy, belonging and, consequently, the children's connection with nature. And (re)establish a balance in the relationships between children, the natural environment and different forms of life.