Abstract:

Since the construction of a Sensory Garden (SG) at the Federal Institute of Amazon (IFAM) as the artifact of a Project Based Learning (PBL) research project with high school students, multiple uses of the SG have been discovered. Common sense is that a SG should be used for inclusion and improvement of accessibility of disabled persons, in this case students. In recent years however, existent SG in different cities have been seen as pleasant places to spend a few hours of the day, even during workdays, hearing the birds singing while smelling different scents and relaxing by seeing a diversity of coloured flowers and plant leaves. This approach to the application of SGs is believed to diminish the human distance from nature. The present work refers to the experience of a SG being used for multiple purposes under the concept of improvement and dissemination of perceptions about sustainable practices in education as well as in daily life. During 12 months our SG served for guided tours with scholars of four public schools, as well as source of samples for different research and teaching projects studying soil, plants and fungi. For each guided tour, the scholars profile was first prospected with the aim of adapting the activities. Two schools brought mentally disabled students. From the other two schools, one group belonged to the basic level and the other was composed of high school students. For each special occasion, the tour was adapted considering the visitors characteristics such as concentration and cognitive skills, mobility, and class level. In terms of research, some of the obtained results about the fungi isolated from the SG soil and plants, were compiled and organised in form of a didactic-scientific exposition for the general public. The exposition revealed "invisible" microorganisms living in the SG and how they matter for the environmental balance, which can be understood also in a global proportions. In brief, SG received more than 400 students only including the planned guided tours and the exposition of microorganisms. The demand for more visits and for support to build and implement SGs in other schools is increasing by the time, showing the potential of this kind of garden to serve the community in terms of a non-formal space of teaching and learning that involves teachers and students of different levels in a variety of activities that emerge from this apparently simple approach.

Keywords:

PBL, Sustainable Education, Transdisciplinarity.