Exploring ecological trails, observing animals in nature, visiting a conservation park. These activities are very valuable for environmental education. But did you know that you don’t have to go far to start practicing it? In fact, even living in a big city, environmental education can be cultivated through simple actions that help take care of what is close to us, like your school, home, and neighborhood. After all, we can only protect the planet when we act in our everyday spaces.

In this text, you will discover what environmental education is, how it transforms children and adults, and practical actions to carry out in your daily life.

What is environmental education?

Environmental education is an educational process that seeks to awaken individual and collective action to care for the environment. More than transmitting knowledge, it encourages a real connection with nature and the adoption of responsible behaviors that help conserve natural resources and face today’s and future environmental challenges, as defined by the International Congress on Environmental Education and Training, an initiative of the United Nations (UN) to strengthen environmental education policies worldwide.

“When we talk about environmental education, we are talking about practices and studies to protect the environment, including ourselves in it,” explains Maria Henriqueta, a member of the coordination of MonitoraEA (Brazilian System for Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Environmental Education Policies). That’s why taking care of the environment also means taking care of oneself and the place where one lives: “Our home, our school, our street, neighborhood, and city,” says Valéria Blos, general director of the Ecofuturo Institute, a non-governmental organization maintained by Suzano and dedicated to education and environmental conservation. Valéria emphasizes that nature exists everywhere. “Even in urban areas, small actions like recycling waste, composting in schools, and recreating small natural environments in enclosed spaces can be ways to awaken interest in the topic.”

Understanding what environmental education is is the first step in recognizing its transformative role. And among so many possibilities, this process can begin in an environment that involves children, families, educators, authorities, and local communities: schools.

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Why is environmental education in schools essential?

Have you ever stopped to think that school is one of the places where children spend most of their day? That’s why it can also be a privileged space to bring them closer to nature. According to a publication by the Alana Institute, a Brazilian organization that promotes children’s rights and builds a more sustainable future, schools are fundamental for learning about the environment. In the same vein, Eco-Schools — an international environmental education program present in dozens of countries — highlights that transformation can begin inside the classroom, expand throughout the school, and gradually reach the community.

In this context, environmental education can be understood through four complementary approaches:

Education about the environment

This approach focuses on knowledge about the environment as a curricular learning subject, involving readings on relevant topics: What are biomes, what is the importance of biodiversity, and what does global warming mean are some examples.

In many contexts, when we think of environmental education in schools, we only remember education about the environment. Even associating it only with studying the topic on dates like World Environment Day and Tree Day. Although these practices are important, alone they are not enough. It is the combination of these approaches that allows the school community to reflect and learn from its context and reality. That’s why there are other pillars of environmental education.

Education for the environment

Have you ever thought about carrying out projects for the environment as a learning goal? That’s exactly what this approach does by practically proposing engagement with the prevention of environmental problems.

Education for the environment begins with simple questions, such as: what do we need to change in this classroom? Do I need to keep the light on all day? How can we fix the dripping faucet? Reflections like these are essential to implement small changes that generate great benefits for the planet, such as reducing energy and water consumption.

Education in the environment

Experiencing nature, touching the soil, and engaging in fun outdoor activities are examples of how to practice education in the environment. This contact with nature is essential to engage the school community in adopting more sustainable practices. “With the life we lead – increasingly restricted to enclosed spaces like buildings and shopping malls – every minute outdoors matters,” says Maria Isabel, researcher of the Children and Nature program at the Alana Institute.

It is by contemplating and touching forms of nature that people often awaken to the urgency of conserving it. “Today, at the National Children and Youth Conference for the Environment, we see several environment secretaries who, as children, participated in the 1st edition as students. They were young kids who are now highly engaged in the environmental cause,” exemplifies Maria Henriqueta from MonitoraEA.

Moreover, education in the environment goes beyond learning to protect the environment, being a way to learn about the world as a whole. “In contact with nature, living it and observing it, we learn practically about physics, mathematics, art, and many other school subjects,” says Valéria.

Education from the environment

Still little addressed in conventional education, education from the environment considers the knowledge of traditional and indigenous peoples and their respectful relationship with nature as an important pillar of environmental education.

“This approach allows us to overcome the exploitative relationship with nature and provides learning of indigenous and quilombola techniques and practices that can be implemented to transform schools into more ecological, pleasant, and nature-filled spaces,” explains Maria Isabel. Additionally, this approach unites environmental education with anti-racist education, boosts the social aspect of sustainability, and strengthens diversity, equity, and inclusion.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recognizes environmental education as an essential element to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These are some of the reasons why several countries around the world have specific policies and legislation that make environmental education mandatory in schools.

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What does the legislation say about environmental education in schools?

In Brazil, environmental education in schools is strengthened by Law No. 14.926 of June 2024 – which amended the National Environmental Education Policy (PNEA). This new law mandates the inclusion of environmental education in the basic education curriculum, focusing on climate change, biodiversity protection, and risks and vulnerabilities to socio-environmental disasters.

Globally, this is a trend driven by UNESCO, which declares that environmental education should be a basic curricular component by 2025.

Benefits of environmental education for the school community

In addition to raising awareness about preserving the planet and encouraging the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles, environmental education is related to several benefits for the school community. Check out some below.

Promote climate refuge

Schools that, through environmental education, transform their physical space into areas with more natural elements are better adapted to face climate challenges, such as excessive heat and floods. The presence of trees, for example, means shade on hot days, better natural ventilation, and comfort for the entire school community.

Stimulate imagination and critical thinking

The diversity of textures, smells, and tones of nature, combined with reflection on the importance of environmental preservation, stimulates more complex play that involves imagination and children’s negotiation skills, for example. In nature, no single element is identical to another, and therefore, children are encouraged to collaborate with resources that differ from usual industrialized toys. This creativity can also mean better school performance.

Reduce “physical illiteracy”

Children who learn in contact with the environment develop more physical strength, agility, flexibility, and train essential skills for their development. “Nowadays, pediatricians warn about physical illiteracy, which is the loss of motor skills: the ability to run or even walk without tripping over their own feet. Experiences with nature are fundamental to reverse this problem,” emphasizes Maria Isabel.

Reduce stress and establish healthier connections

Studies on stress in schools point to this as a problem that affects the entire school community. In research conducted with children aged 7 to 8, 44.5% of them showed advanced stages of emotional stress – already close to exhaustion – resulting in behavioral challenges and conflicts with teachers and family members.

In this scenario, environmental education emerges as an effective means to enable learning while promoting relaxation and reducing behavioral disorders. Only 15 minutes in nature are needed to begin feeling a reduction in cortisol, the stress hormone. Additionally, sounds like running water or birdsong help improve mood and disposition, highlights the book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, by Florence Williams.

How to develop environmental education in schools?

To be effective and permanent, environmental education in schools must involve four fundamental pillars: training of management and educators, curriculum structuring, community engagement, and reflection on the school’s physical space. With this in mind, since 2010, the Ecofuturo Institute has developed the Meu Ambiente Program. Conducted with municipal public schools, the initiative promotes reflection on environmental issues and encourages educators to create learning contexts that involve nature elements, inside and outside the classroom. The project, which includes activities in the Atlantic Forest, is expanding and being taken to the Pantanal, as well as inspiring environmental education initiatives in China.

Check out some ideas inspired by the Meu Ambiente Program that you can develop to start practicing environmental education today.

School garden or orchard

Planting, watering, and harvesting awaken all the senses. Besides being fun, contact with the soil helps in children’s overall development and shows, in practice, nature’s cycles and seasons.

Outdoor drawing workshop

Invite children to observe the landscape and record it on paper. Colored pencils are welcome, but so are dried leaves, twigs, and even soil as natural paint. It’s a way to slow down, step away from screens, and pay attention to the sounds and colors around us.

Memory game

On rainy days, photos of animals, leaves, seeds, or flowers can become cards. Besides being fun, the game strengthens memory and connection with the environment.

Observation trails

A simple walk around the school or neighborhood is enough to see nature with new eyes. Ask: Are there trees nearby? How do we care for the space? Where can we improve? If possible, take children on trails in conservation parks, natural heritage reserves, or other areas of native vegetation. One example is Parque das Neblinas in São Paulo, an environmental reserve managed by the Ecofuturo Institute and maintained by Suzano, with 7,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest offering activities such as hiking, cycle tourism, and canoeing. Check the schedule in the Park’s calendar.

Collaborative newspaper

Have you ever thought about producing a small collaborative newspaper on sustainability topics? You can draw inspiration from JornalEco, an initiative by Suzano, a paper and pulp company, which gathers educational materials and activities on environmental conservation for educators and elementary school students in communities in Mato Grosso do Sul.

How about gathering news, tips, and activities about the environment and producing a newspaper for your school, neighborhood, or condominium? This is an engaging way to practice writing, share knowledge, and mobilize the entire community around sustainability. In addition to the ideas you've learned so far, environmental education can also be practiced at home by reflecting on the importance of waste separation and recycling, choosing more sustainable packaging, and even exercising creativity by inventing recyclable toys with children.

Conclusion

Environmental education is essential for the well-being of people and the planet. And when experienced at school and in direct contact with nature, it creates a multiplying effect. As Valéria from the Ecofuturo Institute explains: “It starts with a ‘little stream’—an experience, a project, a moment—and spreads, forming new flows that reach other children and educators. Just like in nature, this movement branches out, gains strength, and creates new paths. That’s why we believe in environmental education as a path to awaken, transform, and liberate.”

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