Percepções ambientais através dos meliponíneos na Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Santa Helena - Santa Maria - RS

Abstract

This present work, based on a qualitative-quantitative research carried out at the Santa Helena Municipal Elementary School in the municipality of Santa Maria - RS , aims to sensitize students from the 3rd to 5th grades of the initial years of elementary school on the importance of the ecological aspect, social and economic development of native stingless bees. As well as raising awareness about the causes of the disappearance of bee species. For this, the objective was to analyze the contribution of environmental education, through the practices of workshops, using meliponiculture as a resource in raising students' awareness and as a way of identifying students' perceptions during the development of the proposed theme. This study was divided into two stages, using the principle of Ecoliteracy as applied methodology. In the first stage, students from the 4th to 5th grades answered the initial questionnaire, with the purpose of obtaining information about their environmental knowledge in relation to the theme to be addressed. During this moment, the students exposed their expectations, feelings and curiosities regarding the project to be developed. The second stage had the final questionnaire, aiming to analyze the contribution of the didactic workshops carried out, and to identify the students' perceptions regarding the work with stingless bees and the environmental problem. The activity had five workshops, which began with the exposition of theoretical knowledge about bees, raised in the literature review, through debate and video exhibition. In the other workshops held, the school environment was used to instill in students’ investigative knowledge about the diversity of bee species, thus encouraging students to approach nature and awakening actions for the conservation of bees. With this, when analyzing the initial questionnaires, it was noticed that only 42% of the students knew the species of stingless bees, the majority referred only to the Apis mellifera bees, presenting a limited knowledge. Also, only 12% attributed the importance of bees to pollination and 62% of students associated bees with honey production and stinging, in addition to the lack of knowledge about the disappearance of bee populations. When analyzing the final questionnaires, 79% of the students highlighted the importance of bees for pollination, including the importance in the production of food and flowers, 7% for the production of honey. In relation to bee species, in addition to Apis mellifera (stinging bees), students referred to native stingless bee species, such as mirim-guaçu (Plebeia remote), jataí (Tetragonisca angustula), mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata) and the solitary bee, with the bumblebee sting (Bombus brasiliensis). In this way, it is emphasized that significant understandings were produced by the students in relation to the theme of bees and the importance of their conservation, as well as being able to reconstruct perceptions about bees. Thus, this work points to the relevance of the theme for students and schools, emphasizing the need to develop continuous ecoliteracy projects.