“Air health and life” Community project to promote scientific environmental culture from the extension process

Abstract

Introduction: The harmful action of man is causing a continuous deterioration of the environment. In Cuba, environmental education is a dimension of the integral education of all citizens, aimed at harmonizing the relationships between human beings and between them and the rest of society and nature in the acquisition of knowledge, development of habits, skills, capacities, attitudes and the formation of values, in order to promote the orientation of economic, social and cultural processes towards sustainable development. The subject matter is one of the problems recognized in the environmental strategy of the Palma Soriano municipality. Its objective is to provide an extension proposal that contributes to the promotion of scientific environmental culture by university students in the community context of our municipality. Materials and methods: To diagnose the scientific and cultural need in this context, scientific methods such as interviews and surveys of community leaders were used, as well as direct observations of the behavior of community members, where it was found that they deposited solid waste in public spaces of the community, modeled toxic habits in open spaces, and attacked the banks of the Cauto River by logging and burning. Results: University students decided to set up a project to help raise awareness among community members about caring for their environment. The activities are having a favorable impact on local development. Discussion: The project's actions have enabled the training of numerous community leaders on topics related to environmental education. They have multiplied knowledge and experiences in favor of preserving the environmental conditions of the selected community. Conclusions: These actions have contributed to the environmental education of the residents of the Oscar Lucero People's Council, reflected in the changes that are observed today in the ways in which the residents act in relation to the conditions of their environment, avoiding the deterioration of their environmental conditions.