THE UNIVERSITY AS A LABORATORY FOR SUSTAINABILITY: EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE IN EXCHANGE FAIRS AT THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN PARÁ

Abstract

Environmental education is a central instrument in promoting sustainable practices, forming critical individuals and questioning production and consumption patterns, encouraging socio-environmental values. In this context, the project "Swap Fair: The Seed of Environmental Awareness," developed by the Study, Research and Extension Group in Environmental Education, linked to the Geography degree program at the Federal University of Western Pará, is consolidated as an interdisciplinary and socially referenced formative practice that enhances dialogue between the university and the community, while promoting educational experiences aimed at building a critical and emancipatory environmental awareness. The overall objective of the study was to promote the exchange of objects among participants as a socio-educational strategy to reduce the accumulation of idle goods and question excessive consumption and disposal, while also seeking to strengthen environmental awareness and encourage sustainable practices based on socio-environmental responsibility and the collaborative economy. From a methodological point of view, the research is based on the action-reflection perspective, with a qualitative approach, operationalized through the holding of exchange fairs, in which participants make available disused objects and replace them with others of their interest, without monetary mediation. The results indicate a strengthening of environmental awareness, a reduction in excessive consumption, and an appreciation of collective actions. It is concluded that the project contributes to the critical formation of the participants and broadens the debate on responsible consumption