A percepção de moradores da região de Sorocaba sobre plantas frutíferas e a relação com o ensino de botânica

Abstract

Plants and humans have been connected since the start of our human evolution, since its first use in meals, which culminated in the domestication of many vegetable species until the present date, when plants are used by mankind in various ways. Even though they have such an important role in the life of humans, what makes them so uninteresting to students? Theory-dense classes with contents disconnected from the student reality and the absence of science labs are only some of the points observed in studies about the matter. To understand a bit better the relation between human beings and plants, a questionnaire was created, which was presented to the citizens of the Sorocaba metropolitan region with the goal to observe if it would be possible to identify plant species without the presence of their fruit. The questionnaire also contained questions about the environment the person lived in and how was their relationship with plants during their childhood. Those that had the least correct answers were also those who said to have no contact with plants in their day-to-day life and also remembered a low number of botany topics from their school years. The opposite was also true. These results can be explained by the growth of plant blindness in our society. The plant blind person cannot identify plants around them as nothing more than decoration instead of living organisms that provide so much to humans. To fight plant blindness, it is important to diversify botany classes utilizing more practical lessons and experiments and introducing botanical topics since the first years of schooling.