Environmental education in the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (São Paulo, SP, Brazil): an overview of educational programs and their relationship with the protected area

ABSTRACT This research aimed to understand the elaboration and implementation of educational activities in the institutions open to visitation in the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (PEFI). Educational activities were analyzed from the perspective of the Management Plan in order to make suggestions for a unified program of environmental education for PEFI. Through a qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with those responsible for the educational programs of the PEFI institutions. The educational activities are independently developed by each institution and focused on the visitors. PEFI is not the main theme in practically any activity, except in a museum in the São Paulo Botanical Garden and in an educational space in the São Paulo Zoo. We realized the need to structure an educational program for the PEFI. We suggest that such structuring be carried out from a dialogical perspective, involving groups related to PEFI and considering the local reality.