Bee-Plant Relationship in Early Childhood: A Study through the Analysis of Children’s Drawings

Bees play a key role for humans, since crops pollination relies heavily on them. However, bees’ population is diminishing dramatically. Therefore, conservation actions are needed to protect them, including educational ones. Childhood Education is a crucial period to learn and strengthen values about nature and the environment. In fact, it is believed that early exposure to scientific explanations on natural phenomena and on different living species can lead children to value and respect more the environment. The aim of this paper is to study, through the analysis of drawings, whether young children establish the relationship between bees and plants, the basis of the pollination. 47 five and six-year-old-children took part in the study. Results showed that children begin to establish relationships between bees and plants in early childhood, which is a valuable starting point to work with them through educational programs on the role of bees in pollination and on the importance of bees’ conservation

Potencial didáctico del concepto "servicios de los ecosistemas"

El concepto de "servicio de los ecosistemas" presenta una visión antropocéntrica de la naturaleza que muestra a la misma como proveedora de servicios que contribuyen al bienestar humano. Este concepto está alcanzando gran relevancia a nivel científico y político, pero su inclusión en la esfera educativa es muy limitada. Para analizar el potencial didáctico de este concepto, se realizaron dos jornadas dirigidas a los responsables de las Agendas 21 escolares. En ellas se presentó el concepto de "servicios de los ecosistemas" y el marco conceptual en el cual se enmarca. Finalmente se preguntó a los asistentes sobre su potencial didáctico y las necesidades para su transposición didáctica

Naturaren onurak gizarteratzeko hezkuntza: ekosistemen zerbitzuen ikasketa-irakasketarako inplementazio didaktikoa

Knowing and valuing ecosystems, as well as the benefits they provide (known as ecosystem services), is essential for making appropriate decisions about the environment. Promoting teaching-learning processes about the benefits of biodiversity can help children, young people and adults to carry out a critical analysis of reality and make responsible decisions. Despite this, while the concept of ecosystem services has gained global relevance in both science and policy, in the educational sphere this concept needs to be developed and gain importance. Therefore, in order to promote teaching-learning processes on ecosystem services, this paper presents a didactic intervention based on active methodologies. This didactic intervention has been already implemented for three years with great success

Identifying Green Infrastructure as a Basis for an Incentive Mechanism at the Municipality Level in Biscay (Basque Country)

The contributions of green infrastructure (GI) to human well-being have been widely recognised; however, pathways for its systematic implementation are missing. Local governments can play a crucial role in the conservation of GI, and a formal recognition of this role in budgeting systems would foster the inclusion of GI in their agenda. The aim of this study is to identify the principal components of GI at the local level to form a basis for a compensatory economic scheme. We identified the principal components of GI based on the mapping of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. Furthermore, we analysed the potentiality of an incentive mechanism to promote GI based on the protection status of GI. Finally, an incentive mechanism to promote GI at the municipality level was proposed. The results showed that the GI of Biscay is mainly composed of the natural forests presented in the area, and that 50% of the principal components of the GI are not protected. Furthermore, one third of the protected principal components of the GI only has protection at the municipality level. So, we propose a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)-like scheme at the municipality level based on the cover of natural forests, where the objective is the conservation and promotion of the GI.We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Department of Universities, Research and Education of the Basque Government (code: IT1113-16), the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Development and Environmental Education of the University of the Basque Country, and the Department of Environment and Regional Planning of the Basque Government and the Department of Sustainability and Environment of Biscay Provincial Council (Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Basque Country Project)

Integrating Mathematics and Science Teaching in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Design and Pilot Implementation of a Teaching-Learning Sequence about Air Quality with Pre-Service Primary Teachers

This article presents an interdisciplinary teaching–learning sequence (TLS) about air quality for pre-service primary teachers using an organic learning garden. The design involved a curricular integration of concepts and competences about sustainability, mathematics, and science disciplines following constructivist and active learning strategies, such as problem-based learning and place-based education. In this TLS, both the topic and the learning context act as facilitators of education for sustainable development (ESD). The contents address the overarching STEM and sustainability concepts related to air pollutants, weather, and climate. Our results show that students learned about a STEM topic within a space and context that enables ESD. Several misconceptions related to air quality, weather, and statistics were identified through the evaluation of students’ initial ideas. Furthermore, students’ attitudes towards the topic of study and self-efficacy and perceived relevance of ESD improved after the implementation. These results will guide further improvements of the designed TLS, which connects STEM education and ESD as a transformative educational experience for pre-service teachers. In this sense, we conclude that such initiatives can improve pre-service primary teachers’ self-efficacy as agents of change towards sustainable development goals.This research was funded by the Vice-Rectorate of Innovation, Social Commitment and Cultural Action (UPV/EHU), through the call for Projects of Educational Innovation, grant number PIE13-PIE-HECA-STEM and the call from the Directorate of Sustainability: Campus Bizia Lab 2018/19 edition, grant number 18ZUAZ

Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem’s capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem’s capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs

Los bosques del País Vasco y el cambio climático

Los socio-ecosistemas forestales vascos tienen un elevado potencial para garantizar el mantenimiento de las funciones y servicios de sus ecosistemas, y por lo tanto, para ayudar en la mitigación del cambio climático y global. Estos ecosistemas forestales ocupan más de la mitad del territorio, con dominio de las plantaciones de coníferas, si bien es cierto que en los últimos diez años se observa una tendencia de aumento tanto de los bosques naturales, como de las plantaciones de eucalipto. A fin de orientar las decisiones presentes que ayuden en la búsqueda conjunta de soluciones positivas de cara al futuro, es importante fomentar procesos de gestión democrática y participativa.Esta obra ha sido financiada en su completitud por el Excelentísimo Ayuntamiento de Basauri, institución a la que agradecemos nuevamente su decidida implicación en materia de sensibilización medioambiental

Iraunkortasunari buruzko gogoetak garapenerako lankidetzan sartzea

Monográfico de 24 páginasLa edición de este cuaderno ha sido posible gracias a la financiación de la Dirección General de Igualdad y Derechos Ciudadanos del Gabinete del Diputado General de la Diputación Foral de Bizkaia, y de la Fundación Biodiversidad

Potencial didáctico del concepto "servicios de los ecosistemas"

El concepto de "servicio de los ecosistemas" presenta una visión antropocéntrica de la naturaleza que muestra a la misma como proveedora de servicios que contribuyen al bienestar humano. Este concepto está alcanzando gran relevancia a nivel científico y político, pero su inclusión en la esfera educativa es muy limitada. Para analizar el potencial didáctico de este concepto, se realizaron dos jornadas dirigidas a los responsables de las Agendas 21 escolares. En ellas se presentó el concepto de "servicios de los ecosistemas" y el marco conceptual en el cual se enmarca. Finalmente se preguntó a los asistentes sobre su potencial didáctico y las necesidades para su transposición didáctica

The Relevance of Local Participatory Scenario Planning for Ecosystem Management Policies in the Basque Country, Northern Spain

As part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in Biscay, Basque Country, we described scenarios for Biscay through 2050 in an integrated and participatory way by downscaling the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) global scenarios, analyzed how ecosystem services and human well-being might change in a range of plausible futures, identified management strategies for the territory through a backcasting process, and explored the relevance of scenarios to policy making. Our intention was to strengthen the link to policy making and to achieve a real implementation of our research results in ecosystem management policies. We also aimed to provide more insights on how large-scale scenario developments can be translated to the local level. In doing so, we emphasized specific local characteristics and used highly participatory methods focusing on novel elements, such as organizing back-to-back workshops, creating coherent scenarios across scales, using visual elements to present exploratory scenarios, and combining exploratory scenarios with normative backcasting using a World Café methodology. The outcome scenarios and management proposals are relevant for decision making and planning processes at local scale and at the same time, they are comparable to other assessment scenarios. This local participatory scenario process and tool for landscape planning is already having a policy impact thanks to the involvement of public administration technicians and policy makers. In the recently renewed strategic policy plan for sustainability of the county, this assessment is considered a high priority. Therefore, for the next steps of the assessment, detailed guidelines for ecosystem management policies are planned