Ted Feldpausch Research Group

Workshop Exchange of Knowledge and Teaching on Burning in the Amazon, Confresa, MT-Brazil (video)

Posted by Ted Feldpausch

26 February 2023

The Municipal Secretary of Education of Confresa offered the event “I Workshop Exchange of Knowledge and Teaching on Burning in the Amazon”, which took place on February 22, 23 and 24, 2023, in the face-to-face format at the municipality of Confresa, MT. Funded by the University of Exeter (UK) and the Natural Environmental Research Council, UK, the event was a partnership between several institutions such as UNEMAT-campus Nova Xavantina, through the postgraduate program in Ecology and Conservation led by doctoral student Maurivan Barros, State Secretary for the Environment of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso Military Fire Department and MAP-FIRE Project, and coordinated by Prof Ted Feldpausch (Univ of Exeter).

The event arose from the need to address the theme, burning and forest fires, in the context of Education for Disaster Risk Reduction – ERRD, by inserting the reality of fire in the school curriculum of the initial grades. The researcher from Acre, ecologist and also the first author of the Book Guide to Activities for Environmental Education: It’s Fire!, led the days of the event, with the training of teachers and managers of rural and urban schools, of the municipal and state education network. In this sense, during the days of the event, it was possible to present the book to teachers and managers, alternating between theory and practice, the researcher presented scientific methodologies adapted to the school context that will compose the school plan and addressed the context and theme of risks and threats of fire in the format of citizen-science produced by the school.

 

Program and topics discussed

1st day

  • Exhibition of public institutions representing state (Mato Grosso) and municipal (Confresa), target audience and relevance of the theme according to the vision of public managers. The table was made up of representatives from the following institutions: Military Fire Brigade of Mato Grosso, Municipal Secretary of Education of Confresa, State Secretary for the Environment, Post-Graduation in Ecology and Conservation Unemat-campus Nova Xavantina.
  • Presentation by researcher and doctoral student Maurivan Barros on the importance of the theme within the local reality of residents of the municipality and state. In addition, the institutions, funding and support, partners for holding the event, actions and activities were presented.
  • Presentation by the lecturer researcher at the teacher training event, Yara de Paula. On that occasion, Yara began her speech demonstrating the importance of the public present in the training and the multiplicity of actors directly and indirectly involved in educational actions related to the theme. The contextualization of the event always returned to this point, where local actions have global implications. In addition, fire was addressed in its broad sense and combat and mitigation actions that are not restricted to facing fire flames in a forest fire.
  • Guiding questions guided the beginning of the discussion between the professors, managers and the speaker, such as the following:
  • Why work on environmental education with the school community in the early grades?
  • Why develop the theme “Forest Burns and Fires” in schools?
  • After these discussions, experience reports and auditory collection of perceptions, the presentation continued with the introduction on the relevance of the theme considering international and national projects funded to implement actions to mitigate the risks and socio-environmental impacts of fire. At that moment, the beginning of the idea of training was presented, through the University of Exeter, also key points of the Map-Fire Project and implementation in an activity book format.
  • Contextualization of the region’s flammability scenario and implications for society and the environment.

2nd day

  • Teacher planning*
  • What is the role of the community in risk mitigation and management actions?
  • Context of the Conceptual model of warning system and risk management;
  • How does the model contribute in the school context?
  • Disaster Risk Reduction Education Concept;
  • Dynamics to contextualize the importance of trees and oxygen;
  • Presentation of the É Fogo! Methodologies and forms of application.

3rd day

  • Application of social cartography and oral history methodologies.
  • Closing Event
  • Collection of perceptions of the event. Dynamics: what went well, where to improve, thoughts…?

 

 

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