Seventeenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The relationship between education and sustainability cannot be based on notions, even less on the fear of a catastrophe. Sustainability means humans, as individuals and societies, who consciously seek to go with the grain of nature. Learning to understand the natural world and the human place in it can only be an active process to acquire the sense of belonging to the same human community that is part of the natural world. To build a sustainable world it is necessary to “become people” in harmony with one’s fellowmen and natural elements. The procedure of “becoming people” can only take place within an authentic educating community where everyone’s energies are directed towards the formation of an individual and social eco-wisdom. Effective tools for this type of didactic approach are: reading literature, creative writing and gradual contact with natural elements. This paper features the report of an action research carried out in this direction in agreement with the Sociology Department of the University of Salerno. Over four hundred children of a school and their families have been involved in an educational path called Fiabadiaro based on a cross between reading, creative writing, and nature walks with the aim of educating on ecological thinking.