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These weeks of confinement of the population in their homes, due to the coronavirus, have demonstrated an environmental improvement, especially in large cities. The closure of the industry, the reduction of carbon dioxide levels due to the disappearance of cars on the roads, the closure of the parks that have made them show a more rugged face or the drop in the rate of consumption by the society, have been some of the factors that have helped our environment to be more friendly. An improvement in the air we breathe, a reduction in noise levels in the streets and squares of the neighborhoods have been consolidated, fauna has gained ground in some areas, etc. An improvement of the environment that has demonstrated the “harmful” effect that human activity sometimes causes on it. An example of this are the images published by NASA and the European Space Administration that showed a significant reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions in the main cities of Spain. From a closer look, in our country, a study by the Polytechnic University of Valencia found that our skies were on average 64% cleaner during confinement.
With the passage of weeks and the passage of the autonomous communities through the different phases until achieving the "new normal", the experts predict a new increase in the consumption of goods and services, the excessive return of the use of the car, the pressure of the population on parks and gardens, etc. What consequences will the end of confinement have for the environment? The experts assure that all those measures, ideas, protocols and objectives that were agreed at the end of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25), held last December, will have to be taken up again. forgotten in the face of the health crisis that introduced humanity into a true dystopia. A report that laid the foundations for countries to be more ambitious in the face of the climate emergency from a cross-cutting perspective in which all sectors of society are involved and where education is a fundamental pillar to achieve it. Because, as announced by the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Isabel Celaá, "we have to turn our schools into response engines in this climate emergency situation."
Until now, explains Carmelo Marcén, teacher and doctor of geography at the University of Zaragoza, “the school has encouraged numerous interventions on the environment. On too many occasions, they have focused on small gestures around a use of the environment, repeated with similar formats year after year. The involvement of students and teachers has been high, but I am afraid that it has not generated environmental commitments and has slightly modified lifestyles, the true cause of environmental deterioration. ”
In the process of transition towards more sustainable and healthy lifestyles, families are also a momentous setting. Carmelo Marcén maintains that “educational construction has a lot of imitation, of walking paths in the company of others, of contrasting opinions on the environment, of making commitments, of agreeing on a series of objectives to improve habits and behaviors and a subsequent revision. In addition, a comparative analysis should be carried out between the environmental uses of the family and the near or global society. Changes are built, not adopted. ” For this reason, this doctor in Geography points out that “the school must carry out a transformation to adapt to the new scenario that will be marked by environmental and social emergencies. He must teach what serves to understand life, to make commitments towards an ecosocial coexistence. It will need a deep curricular renewal, an adaptation of methodologies, a consistent teacher training and a determined incentive for student participation ”.
The promotion of the environmental values of the new generations places the teacher in the focus of this objective. David Gutiérrez Ferreiro, environmental educator at the Cantabrian Rural Development Network and member of the # EA26 collective, affirms that "the teacher must make his students understand that we are interdependent and ecodependent beings". For this reason, Gutiérrez Ferreiro is committed to putting into practice pedagogical strategies that invite students “to think critically and be active in defending the environment; in defense of life, in short. The teacher must put them in contact with nature so that they understand its values, the benefits it provides for a healthy life and the pressures to which the environment is subjected in this context of climate emergency. ” Environmental educational programs that must be developed in both rural and urban classrooms. Because each of these spaces has its own idiosyncrasy, with its pros and cons. This environmental educator points out that “in rural areas it is usually easier to carry out environmental education projects due to the environment in which they are located; for example, to analyze the ecological status of different nearby ecosystems. But it has the obstacle of continuity due to the interimity of the teaching staff. On the other hand, the urban school environment is a favorable setting to develop programs related to health, sustainable mobility, consumption habits or waste management, which have a direct link with the state of the environment ”.
To help the students of the different educational stages to take action for the environment, Educaclima has been developed, a resource platform to work with students on climate change and sustainability. Esteve López, coordinator of the Entrepreneurship area of Fundación Trilema, indicates that the main objective of this project is “to alert young people to the causes, impacts and consequences of climate change. For this, the project is especially aimed at teachers of any educational stage with the aim of providing resources and support of all kinds, with a variety of methodologies, seeking training and awareness.
Esteve López is committed to a change in the way in which environmental education is currently taught within the curriculum. The coordinator of the Entrepreneurship area adds that, “without a doubt, we should go beyond the compartmentalized concept of the subjects. Working on all kinds of interdisciplinary projects, generating opportunities to train skills in different contexts, modifying the behavior of our students so that they really take action. Elements such as eco-social transformation, ecodependence, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals must be present in any educational center. Our students have to assume their share of responsibility for the planet. ”
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