ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION - THE FIGHT FOR WATER TRANSFORMS THE COMMUNITY

Abstract

This article presents the environmental education work developed with smallholders from Rural Nucleus 2 of Sobradinho-DF. The methodological approach was based on action research, through which the subjects build interactions and human development that are evident in the transformative actions developed by them. The theoretical reflection starts from the discussion of the forms of land appropriation in the Sobradinho region, combined with the disorderly urban expansion that determined degrading environmental impacts in the Sobradinho river basin and the emergence of frequent erosions. The erosion process caused the destruction of the historic water channel that crossed the smallholdings, an essential source of water for the farmers' work. Faced with this problem, the action research carried out accompanied the process of mobilization of the farmers in order to promote the restoration of the water channel. To address the problem, they created an association that inspired the community to take on the collective struggle to rebuild the canal, in addition to raising socio-environmental awareness, based on social learning focused on the recovery of the stream and the quality of life in their territory. The way they organized themselves to defend collective needs and interests highlighted the transformative potential of environmental education in the life of the community.