Urban backyards and the valorization of popular knowledge: an ethnobotanical study

Abstract

Botany in secondary schools generally lacks attractiveness due to its theoretical lessons and its distance from the natural environment, which demotivates students. With the aim of learning about houseplants and promoting an interdisciplinary approach to teaching botany, valuing the interaction between scientific and popular knowledge, the research was carried out with 20 second-year high school students from a public school in the municipality of Tianguá, Ceará. Investigative and participatory methods were used to study houseplants. The students demonstrated their knowledge of a wide range of plants by reporting 78 different species, 35% of which are found in the home. The investigative approach, combined with the interaction between the students and their families and the use of the backyard as a laboratory, had a positive impact on the construction of botanical knowledge, making it more meaningful and relevant to the students' reality.