Práticas ambientais e melhoria da qualidade de vida dos catadores da Vila Maringá em Santa Maria, RS

Abstract

This monograph was developed with trash pickers from Maringá Village in Santa Maria, RS, where there are several socio-environmental problems. First, we constantly visited the place, in order to create a reliable and friendly atmosphere and stimulate residents to care for the environment, alleviate immediate problems and guarantee their participation in environmental practices. Environmental education was an indispensable tool for sensibilization. For each problem focused, we offered environmental actions, involving the community, trying to sensitize them to change their attitudes. We offered training spaces with lectures and thematic movies, courses for the optimization of materials and production of handicrafts. In the informal chats, mothers were stimulated to guide their children and encourage them to study, avoiding the dangers of crack, alcohol, school truancy, aiming to rescue values that are essential for forming their personalities, since they may become vulnerable to the reality experienced in their families, on the streets and with the lack of perspective on life and low self-esteem. We can say that this monograph was relevant due to the interdisciplinary work and due to the positive results, such as: confidence, adhesion, responsibility, autonomy, self-esteem, what was translated into citizen actions in the significant reduction of the accumulation and the trash burning and in spaces replaced with gardens and orchards resulting in abundant crops of vegetables.