OBJECTIVE:

The current study was performed in a municipal school of Redenção, Pará State, Brazil, with 51 students, between 10 and 15 years old from 6th and 9th grade of Elementary II of Brazilian school, aiming to analyse the students' environmental perception related to the environmental health.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

It was used the Mind Map technique to visualize, structure and classify the elements that belong to the environment. It was used a questionnaire with questions about daily practices of environmental behavior.

RESULTS:

Data were statistically analyzed and showed important differences of perception among students from those grades. However the interviewees observed the natural environment with greater intensity, and rarely inserting the human being into their perceptions. Streets, houses and trees were present in more than 89% of their drawings, while humans and animals appeared below 26%. The most of the drawings did not match to the reality of the place under study in regard to a healthy environment. The questionnaires presented answers about some environmental questions according to the students' desire of a better conserved environment; in this sense, 43% asked for more public trashcans in the city.

CONCLUSION:

Environmental education is important in continuous educational process in order to awareness about the need for an environment that offers a better quality of life.

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