PEDAGOGICAL RURAL TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: THE PEDAGOGICAL ACTIONS DEVELOPED IN THE FIFTH FARM OF THE GRANDE STATION - VIAMAO (RS)

The understanding that environmental education currently includes educational activities that go beyond the classroom highlights the need to incorporate innovative teaching practices which are linked to concrete experiences. In this context, we highlight the pedagogical rural tourism, represented by a set of practical activities developed within the framework of rural properties, which utilize agricultural activities, the natural and cultural resources, as tools of teaching. Based on these assumptions, this article seeks to analyze the contributions of rural tourism in the process of environmental education for children. For this, we carried out interviews with five monitors of Quinta da Fazenda Grande Resort, located in the municipality of Viamao (State of Rio Grande do Sul), furthermore an observation and monitoring of three kindergarten classes while they were on a visit to the property in 2006. We have found that the educational activities developed on the Farm represent effective teaching strategies for environmental education, since they allow to the children a direct contact with different elements of nature through concrete experiences held outdoors.