Diseño, desarrollo y evaluación de un campamento urbano de Educación Ambiental para preescolares

Abstract

This educational proposal consisted of the design, development and evaluation of an Environmental Education urban camp at the campus of the University of Navarra. The main objective of this camp addressed to 4-5 year old children was to use Environmental Education as a tool to promote human-nature connectedness and offer children opportunities for playing outdoors and exploring the environment. The methodology for the design and organization of the camp was based on elaborating an Activities Guide, which was tested in several pilot sessions in the formal educational context. The assessment of activities was conducted by using an adapted graphical rating scale through which children were able to express to what extent they enjoyed the activities. Complementarily, educators' observations about the group's behaviour and the activities' development were considered. The full camp experience was conducted in four different weeks during summer 2021, involving a total of 70 participants. The results obtained were positive since 89.2% of the participants expressed that they had a good experience during the camp. The highest rated activities were the ones including hands-on experiences and handicrafts outdoors. Thus, this experience highlights the potential of certain areas within cities to grow into learning spaces and places of connection with nature.

This educational proposal consisted of the design, development and evaluation of an Environmental Education urban camp at the campus of the University of Navarra. The main objective of this camp addressed to 4-5 year old children was to use Environmental Education as a tool to promote human-nature connectedness and offer children opportunities for playing outdoors and exploring the environment. The methodology for the design and organization of the camp was based on elaborating an Activities Guide, which was tested in several pilot sessions in the formal educational context. The assessment of activities was conducted by using an adapted graphical rating scale through which children were able to express to what extent they enjoyed the activities. Complementarily, educators' observations about the group's behaviour and the activities' development were considered. The full camp experience was conducted in four different weeks during summer 2021, involving a total of 70 participants. The results obtained were positive since 89.2% of the participants expressed that they had a good experience during the camp. The highest rated activities were the ones including hands-on experiences and handicrafts outdoors. Thus, this experience highlights the potential of certain areas within cities to grow into learning spaces and places of connection with nature.