Cultural Mapping - A Potentiating Approach to Environmental Education
MARE doctoral student Daniel Oliveira recently published the article ‘Culture Mapping as a Tool for Enviromental Education in Coastal Areas’ in the online scientific journal Janus.net, from the Autonomous University of Lisbon. Daniel Oliveira is one of the students whose PhD was the result of collaboration between two of MARE's regional research units, with Mônica Mesquita (MARE-NOVA) and Zara Teixeira (MARE-UCoimbra) as his supervisors.
Cultural mapping is a pedagogical tool that encompasses place-based environmental education through its exploration and representation. With a collaborative and action-oriented approach, this tool contributes to the creation of a database of local spatial knowledge, enabling the visualisation and analysis of community narratives and establishing links between these narratives and other biophysical and cultural elements of the landscape.
In order to create these cultural maps, it is essential to understand the place, create intra-community ties, form identity, map conflicts, discuss dreams and desires, and even create social contracts. Since it involves citizens and communities in learning through dialogue, cultural mapping becomes a highly important tool in environmental education.
In this context, MARE PhD student Daniel Oliveira explores how cultural cartography can strengthen environmental education in Portugal's coastal areas, highlighting its relevance for understanding the interactions between local communities and coastal landscapes, and for developing sustainable environmental conservation and management strategies. To this end, Daniel Oliveira's article analyses urban evolution along the Portuguese coast, examining the historical contexts and challenges in the management of coastal territories. Cultural cartography is emphasised as a valuable approach for integrating local knowledge and promoting collaboration between different cultural contexts.
From this analysis, the researcher concluded that cultural cartography increases the relevance and resonance of environmental education projects in communities, thus contributing to local sustainable development goals. In his article, Daniel Oliveira also presents some research projects that use cultural cartography as active pedagogy, exploring its potential for environmental education.
In this way, the researcher shows that through its collaborative, interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach, Cultural Mapping can make environmental education projects more convincing, comprehensive and engaging, helping to protect and enhance coastal landscapes for present and future generations.
To access the article click HERE