Banca de DEFESA: ELIANA BASÍLIO DE MENDONÇA GRANCIANINOV

ETHNOBOTANY AT SCHOOL: KNOWLEDGE IN EDUCATION

Methodological strategies, interdisciplinarity, environmental education, medicinal plants.

The present study was developed with the aim of gathering information about knowledge related to medicinal plants in the Carlos Drumond de Andrade school community, in the  city of Rolim de Moura, RO. The research included the participation of high school students, parents or guardians, teachers and technicians. Interviews were used in the form of semi-structured forms with open and closed questions. The form was structured into four blocks of questions (Block I (demographic), Block II (ethnobotanical), Block III (educational - teachers and students) and Block IV (pharmacological)). Workshops were developed with students as a way of proposing a methodology for introducing the topic of medicinal plants in an interdisciplinary way. The data was organized in electronic spreadsheets. The richness, diversity and importance value of the species were determined. In general, the majority of interviewees were represented by women, born in Rondônia, and white. The majority use medicinal plants because they are natural and believe that it doesn't hurt, which reflects the lack of knowledge about the toxicity of some plants. Regarding species richness, the group formed by teachers was the one that cited the largest number of medicinal plants (37) and greatest diversity (3.6). Plants classified as exotic were the most cited. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), mint (Mentha spp), boldo (Plectranthus spp) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) presented the highest importance value in all groups interviewed. The most used preparation method was tea and infusion, the most used part of the plant was the leaves. The most cited therapeutic indications were those related to diseases of the digestive and respiratory systems. Students and teachers mentioned the relationship between medicinal plants and disciplines and suggested theoretical/practical classes. During the workshops developed with the students, it was possible to observe greater interaction, as well as introducing interdisciplinarity through the need to calculate measurements, chemical principles and species biology. In view of the results, the importance and interest in the topic of medicinal plants in schools was evident, mainly in terms of understanding the benefits, the safe way of use, as well as devising strategies for inserting them in an interdisciplinary way, as well as developing knowledge about other species, especially native ones.