Chemistry, urban environments and ecopedagogy: A possible dialog. Soil as a case-study example for an integrated vision
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1970-2221/16127Keywords:
ecopedagogy, soil, chemistry, urbanisation, environmental educationAbstract
Ecopedagogy can be viewed as a new kind of science education for a more sustainable civilisation; it is often defined as a participatory education centred on life and on love for the natural environment, matching some concepts clearly deriving from an enactivist matrix. However, the noble intentions of ecopedagogy fail to dispel the doubt about the existence of discriminatory aspects towards the anthropic element, mostly seen as invasive and a source of disharmony. Emblematic examples are urbanisation and synthetic chemistry, both involved in the consumption and progressive degradation of soil. This work aims to demonstrate how some interdisciplinary educational activities about soil, carried out mainly in situ with an experimental approach, can debunk certain prejudices, focusing either on the improvement of green spaces or on the scientific-technological tools allowing for their protection; these include geo-localisation and the conscious use of chemistry. Anyway, scientific progress alone cannot resolve environmental problems: a change of consciousness, to which school communities are called, is required.
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