DEGRADATION OF CACTACEAE: THE USE OF SCHOOLS AS A FIELD OF AWARENESS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CACTUS PRESERVATION

Abstract

Ethnobotany refers to the study of plants and their relationships with humans, in this context the Caatinga encompasses many species of ethnobotanical interest, especially the Cactaceae, since they have several uses unknown to people. The objective of this article was to present to the students the ways of sustainable use of the species Mandacaru (Cereus jamacuru DC.), Xique-xique (Pilosocereus ssp.), Facheiro (Pilosocereus ssp.) e Coroa-de-frade (Melocactus ssp.), making them pass on this knowledge to the local population and thus this use happens in order to preserve these species. The methodology took place through 4 stages (pre-test, awareness, science fair and post-test), developed with students from the 9th year of the Santa Rosa Municipal School, Serrita-PE, this choice was due to the fact that of the school curriculum to address biodiversity preservation, so the work was developed within this content. The 4 methodological steps ranged from the analysis of the student's prior knowledge to the knowledge acquired about each species in order to identify whether the methodology was valid for the absorption of knowledge. Through the lived moments, it was possible to observe that the students' knowledge at the end of the research was no longer the same at the beginning of everything, they began to know better and identify uses hitherto unknown to them. However, it was concluded that the moments experienced were of great value to the students. The time of the science fair was important so that the students could pass on to the local community, the means of use found by them during the research moments, and thus had the opportunity to teach how to use these plants without deforesting them.