Giovana Graminha Pinheiro

The daily pressures exerted by urban centers, added to the absence of green areas, end up promoting great damage to the quality of life of the resident population. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of a green park in the central area in Dourados, MS, Brazil, on thermal and sound comfort through environmental indicators. The following measurements were taken: air temperature, relative air humidity, light incidence, and noise variation at sampling points in the Arnulpho Fioravante green park and adjacent areas. The thermal discomfort index (TDI), which considers the variables air temperature and relative air humidity, was also adopted. TDI and noise results indicated that the park has little influence on adjacent areas. On the other hand, the park area with the highest plant density showed significant TDI values, classifying it between “feeling comfortable” and “feeling partially uncomfortable.” Areas of the city and the park without vegetation had many “feeling uncomfortable” ratings. Moreover, the vegetation may have acted as a filter to minimize urban noise. Our results indicate that urban green areas are important components in maintaining the population’s quality of life, provided they have good planning and management of available forest resources.

This research analyzed the perception of 42 higher education students about Environmental Education (EE) activities in environmental management and explored spontaneous conceptions about an urban green park. Data were obtained in 2016 through a questionnaire based on the Free Word-Association Test methodology and analyzed by the Collective Subject Discourse. In the students conception, the importance of EE as a process of environmental management is imperative, being seen as an instrument or tool for raising awareness among the population. As a management instrument, EE seems to assume a technical and disciplining character, and as a tool to raise awareness among the population, it reflects the utilitarian model of society, favorable to the principles of a conservative EE. The association test showed that the studied urban green park was represented mainly by the words “degradation” and “natural,” showing dichotomous and biologizing trends. The results indicate the need to adopt activities that allow transposing the experiences presented by the students. It will contribute to the construction of a more critical, emancipatory EE that is really focused on the complex environmental agenda.

Green areas in urban spaces are highly relevant environments in promoting the population’s quality of life, as they provide leisure, recreation, thermal comfort, and contact with nature. This study aimed to evaluate the degree of human alterations in streams in three urban green parks in the city of Dourados, MS, Brazil, through the survey of visual, physical, and chemical parameters. The results presented after applying the Rapid Assessment Protocol for Habitat Diversity (RAP) and measuring water physical and chemical parameters characterized the streams of the three parks as 'altered'. The minimum and maximum values of dissolved oxygen in the water were below the acceptable standards for the aquatic biota, with means of 3.2 to 5.4 mg L−1. The means of light incidence ranged from 51 to 64%, indicating the absence or reduction of riparian vegetation. The pH, temperature, total dissolved solids, and electrical conductivity values did not indicate environmental degradation. These results allowed evaluating the integrity of streams in the parks, which showed alterations due to human actions. Thus, the function of conservation and preservation of biodiversity is not being fully achieved and may negatively interfere with the generation and use of ecosystem services.