Welcome to our VAMOS Digital Photo Exhibition!

“Education is the key to social inclusion processes and Mandala Sensorial acts as a teaching tool. It is extremely important to work on educational processes in Environmental Education regarding the inclusion of people with some kind of physical or intellectual disability.

The activities developed within this initiative promote social integration adding to the training and development of people with disabilities. These are actions where participants are in direct contact with nature, covering the interactions of the environment, in addition to sharing knowledge about the use and conservation of culinary and medicinal species.

And through inclusive activities, citizens become more aware and empathetic with others, learn how to live together, and embrace and respect the differences of each of us within society.”

“The general ecology study program taught at our Santa Bárbara campus, developed an environmental campaign to raise awareness among citizens regarding the protection of ecosystems. The campaign is called “REPLACE – join and be part of the change” and its members undertook the following actions:

1. Sharing the message via social networks, television and distribution of flyers with reflective messages
2. Developing ecological fairs to promote reusable bags to replace plastic bags
3. Advocating for the approval of the development of an open town hall to analyze the environmental problems in the municipality and the approval of municipal policies and / or ordinances for the protection of ecosystems. The request was presented by the students at a municipal corporation meeting and the development of the environmental open council was approved.”

“Reusing textile waste in the manufacturing of Abayomis dolls – in addition to all the cultural meaning behind the story! This activity gives a new meaning to fabric scraps that would take years to decompose in nature. Through dolls, we bring to children an ethnic symbol and female resistance.”

“Among other activities, the student led group “GHOST” (Gotlands Headquaters for Sustainable Thinkers) has set up numerous events for students already passionate about sustainability topics as well as those new to the subject. Very popular are the movie nights during which often a documentary or film orbiting around a sustainability challenge is watched and discussed afterwards. Many engaged discussions have emerged from that and created a strong community feeling.”

“The interpretive trail was an initiative for teachers and students from the city’s public schools, using the campus spaces as allies and tools for Environmental Education, thus associating an educational process with living in the middle of nature. On this trail, we work on programmed and planned obsolescence, correct disposal of solid waste and the importance of preserving species. We are going ‘beyond the walls’ and bring the community into the university – in search of a more sustainable and conscious encounter with our environment.”

“Hej hej! We are GHOST, Gotland Headquarters of Sustainable Thinkers and we are part of Uppsala University Campus Gotland. With a group of very engaged students we show everyone how much fun it can be to be involved in sustainability! We organise clean-up days, movie screenings, inspirational talks and we have recently started our own garden where we grow all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Sustainability is the future, and we want to be there at the starting point of this new future!”

“I am Aline Sanches, currently student at the Public Governance Master Program. For 5 years, me and some colleagues were part of the TETO NGO by actively building emergency houses for families in need in Curitiba. Here on the picture, I am working together with Professor Libia Patricia Peralta Agudelo in 2019.”

“As part of the so called “Green Room” our windowsills will be soon covered with basil, parsley and other tasty herbs.”

“The picture is from one out of the several Mensa’s provided by University of Padova.

Also, it connects to the Sustainable Development Goal “Zero Hunger” because of the provision of quality food made available for the students – sometimes for free if one is on schorlarship: scan the QR code and get free food.

For an international student like me from Nigeria, I find it a sustainable initiative because the quality food I get from the Mensa helps to live a healthy life and the place brings us together from different cultures and background.”

“How to create your vegetable garden in a grocery cart? This picture shows the extension project developed by Prof. Eloy Casagrande (UTFPR, Curitiba, Brazil) in partnership with an NGO that promotes the consumption of non-conventional food plants through teaching university students the possibility of planting anywhere, even if they do not have land for it. The grocery cart is also no longer a symbol of the consumption of processed food but for growing your own healthy food.”

“Through Environmental Education it is possible to experience and reflect on the idea that we are all one. Understanding the environment requires awakening our consciousness, our citizenship, our capacity for indignation and realizing the gravity and urgency of social and environmental problems. Through critical environmental education, we pay attention to our personal and collective responsibilities, acting in a more proactive way and with a public spirit of change.”

“Receiving classes online has been a challenge. At first, it was difficult for me to coordinate my time with my family, which I dedicated to my work and studies, but thanks to ‘the new normal’ and the e-learning platform I have also been able to take my classes, participate in conferences that have contributed a lot to my personal growth without leaving my workplace, increasing the number of classes that I can take in an academic period, reducing fuel costs, the carbon dioxide emissions of the vehicles in which I transport myself and the need for public services such as water and electricity on campus. “

“A break from the exhausting studies to enjoy your lunch meal. Our new green room is covered with plants and creates a nice contrast to the white classrooms. Students are encouraged to take care of the plants with openly available water cans and tools.”

“Sala Verde Solidarity Clothesline was an initiative to support workers and students in their effort to save money. This initiative is directly linked to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as it is related to the Poverty Eradication as well as the Responsible Consumption and Production goals. The Solidarity Clothesline also encourages the reduction of consumerism, thus promoting the reuse of clothes.”

“The Cultural Integration from Spanish Classes was a project from 2018 until 2019 with a focus on promoting our Latin identity among students from 9th grade in public schools in Caruaru, a city located in the inland of Pernambuco, Brazil. By participating in the project, students were able to use the Spanish language as a guide towards knowing better their roots and realizing that – despite the distance created throughout the Brazilian past – Spanish and Portuguese share a variety of culture, history, and language skills. We were able to reduce a profound barrier that separates public students from succeeding in their goals, thus improving the reality they live in.”

“The Centre for Environment and Development Studies (CEMUS) is an initiative created by students. In a transdisciplinary way, CEMUS brings together student-led education related to the environment, sustainability and development, organizes festivals, film screenings, and workshops while also engaging in various research project. Education for students from students – that could be the future, right?”

“On the picture you can see one of our Environmental Education Practices in schools in Curitiba where we expand knowledge on the topic of waste management through interdisciplinarity and transversality. The activities include individual and collective methodological dynamics at our school to find creative solutions and to solve environmental problems in living spaces. The activities involved students from 6th to 9th grade, teachers and employees of one elementary school.”

“One of many UTFPR’s Green Office actions that I took part in was concerned with spreading information about sustainability initiatives in many events. In this one event you can see on this picture, we brought our Green Office’s building model and explained every innovative aspect of the house and every action we took towards a less polluted environment.”

“We engage in active learning as part of our Postgraduation Course on Sustainable Constructions. On the picture, you can see a workshop about Adobe building methods in the Atlantic Forest in 2019. “

“I am conducting doctoral research in the Postgraduate Program in Technology and Society (PPGTE) at UTFPR that involves schools and the community. The aim is to evaluate the Municipality project that opens the gardens in schools with the help of knowledge of the surrounding residents. Some elementary schools have opened these garden spaces to the community which turned them into places for discussing and learning about different knowledges and promoting sustainable food production through learning about different types of food and food safety – from hygiene habits to making healthy choices in everyday life.”

“Project “Storytelling in a multidisciplinary approach: development of language skills”, with the academic of Licentiate in Portuguese-English Letters Antonio Carlos Valentini and the coordinator Siderlene Muniz-Oliveira, in 2020. We created stories for children with the theme of sustainability and preserving nature at UTFPR, Dois Vizinhos Campus, Brazil.”

“UTFPR graduate students who work in the Junior Econsultoria company are engaging in restoring and conserving wetlands. Our master’s and doctoral students further engage in research in Science Education, using wetlands as a theme to explore aspects of biology, ecology, soil characteristics, and hydrology.”

“Doctoral research in the Post-Graduate Program in Technology and Society (PPGTE) at UTFPR, which involves young residents of protected natural areas on the coast of the state of Paraná (Southern Brazil) to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the Atlantic Forest and the recovery of degraded areas. The project, in partnership with environmental NGOs, stimulates an economy that produces work for the benefit of communities, valuing the production of organic food, medicines and work opportunities related to ecotourism.”