Environmental education and its influence in an Institution of Higher Education: The study of workers of the university restaurant in the

city of Campina Grande - Brazil

Albuquerque Neto, H. C. a, Marques, C. C. b, Lira, J. P. A. b, Vasconcelos, A. L. M. b, Vasconcelos, S. C. S. b, Arajo, I. F. b, Barbosa, E. A. b
a b

University of Porto, Dr. Roberto Frias S/N 4200-465, Porto/Portugal, e-mail: heliocnt@hotmail.com University of Campina Grande, Av: Aprgio Veloso, N882 Bodocong. Campina Grande-PB Brazil, CEP 58109-970, PO Box 10 069, e-mail: charles_producao@hotmail.com, jopelira@hotmail.com, andrelmv@gmail.com, sandracsvasconcelos@uol.com.br, ivanildo@uaep.ufcg.edu.br Abstract In the current global scenario, the mans life is being affected by geoclimatic changes, result of centuries of exaggerated use of natural resources without any concern with the environment. In line with this problem, environmentally correct conduct must leave the area and move from utopia to be developed, lived, and applied mainly learned in practical day-to-day, in daily academic life, contributing to the formation of citizens leaders and opinion formers. In this context, the objectives of this studdy is to contribute to the social function of the Federal University of Campina Grande through environmental education, promoting action together with collaborators from the University Restaurant (UR) that result in effective reduction in the volume of waste generated during the food preparation process, enabling the university community about the existence of food waste and its undesirable consequences for the environment.The methodology consisted of questionnaires to employees in the UR, to detect the level of knowledge, needs and requirements, relating to environmental education in order to obtain a real assessment of the situation. Subsequently, we carried out educational campaigns training to equalize the skill levels of employees, applying the end of the project, with questionnaires to evaluate their knowledge on the subject of environmental education and to check whether there was a reduction in waste produced, in order to assess whether the proposal has been reached. The results showed a reduction of 40.37% of waste generated, and a further elucidation of the techniques of environmental education by the officials. Finally, there is the success of the work, because from it proved to be a significant improvement in quality and waste minimization, which leads to a contribution to the academic community, as well as the environment. Keywords: University Restaurant, Environmental Education, Workers 1. INTRODUCTION The industrial revolution in the XVII (eighteenth) century was a milestone for economic growth and technological development in todays society. Enjoy the advantages provided that the development remained in a disorderly way today as an aggravating factor in the degradation of natural resources. The diversity of products and uncontrolled increase in the consumption boosted the generation of waste, resulting in negative impacts to the environment. In this context, emerged in the mid-nineteenth century, the term "Sustainable Development", in which one of its principles basing on the ability of society to submit to the precepts of caution and make good use of nature. By having different definitions and aspects, its implementation raises doubts in most people as to the practicality of their actions. Thus, we conjecture about the need for environmental literacy, in other words, an environmental education for the population in order to create subsidies for sustainable practices and minimize the existent environmental degradation. In this context, environmental education should emerge naturally in family and in educational institutions, however in most cases this doesnt happen. It has the example of the university, institution of higher education that trains professionals with knowledge in their areas of intellectual activity, but suffers in its essence, by having a vision for decentralized and disjointed panorama of the current environment. In line with this fact, the restaurant at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) - Campus I had lots of food waste, which generated discussion between managers about their high rate of waste that could be altered. Aware of this problem, a team of undergraduate students of Industrial Engineering has developed an extension project that promoted the training of local employees (internal customers) of the University Restaurant in Environmental Education, in order to sensitize them towards environmental problems and develop a consciousness toward environmental preservation, while minimizing the waste generated in your workplace.

. 1.1 The Environmental Education Brazil is the pioneer country in Latin America to develop a specific law about environmental education policy (Federal Law No. 9795) and developing national programs (National Environment Council - CONAMA) integrated with the federal government. Law No. 9795 (1999) conceives of environmental education as the process by which the individual and the community build social values, knowledge, skills, attitudes and competences aimed at conserving the environment, as being of common use, essential to healthy quality of life and its sustainability. To this end, this law brings in, its fundamental objectives, the need to develop an integrated understanding of the environment in its multiple and complex relations, involving ecological, psychological, legal, political, social, economic, scientific, cultural and ethical aspects (Pelicioni et al. 2005). Then, it can be stated that environmental education is a learning process in which citizens are awakened about the importance of the environment in their lives, developing a critical posture of the transformations that man creates in natural resources, seeking a equilibrium between economic, political, social, cultural with the environment. So, it can be stated that environmental education is a learning process in which citizens are awakened about the importance of the environment in their lives, developing a critical posture of the transformations that man creates in natural resources, seeking a equilibrium between economic, political, social, cultural with the environment. In this sense, the connections between civil society organizations and public bodies should be strengthened, to enable the decentralization of decisions, indispensable to the legitimacy of the process, with participation in the management of resources and government actions (CASTRO & CANHEDO JR , 2005). Therefore, society needs to realize that environmental resources are finite and that, without crediting the amount due to the nature, the planet could collapse. Awareness is needed urgently and continuously, through the reeducation of society to the environment, as well as society becomes sustainable. In this respect, the contribution of developing an environmental education for the academic community have an environmental and social value immeasurable. 1.2 The university as an integrating agent of Environmental Education The university is the last entity in the formation of professional qualifying for being an educational institution that integrates expertise that help circumvent the ability level of that future professionals will need to perform their functions. The events that it is experienced, often run counter to his theories, societal needs, their aspirations. Ideas environmentalists should leave the area and pass of utopia to be developed, lived, and applied mainly learned in practical day-to-day, in daily academic life, contributing to the formation of responsible citizens and opinion formers. Considering the importance of environmental issues and integrated world view, in time and space, the university should offer an effective means to ensure that each student understands the natural phenomena, human actions and their consequences for you, for your own kind, to others living beings and the environment. (Pontal, 2005). Thus it is essential that each university, as well as the entire academic community, develop their potential and to adopt postures, personal actions and social behavior, helping to build a just society in a healthy environment. A fundamental step towards sustainability within the university itself is the awareness of teachers, students and administrative assistant coaches about the importance of protecting the environment. In this context, it is observed that the establishment of an environmental education program on the campus of the University Restaurant Campina Grande would be an important milestone for the sustainable development of the academic community, since according to studies of Albuquerque Neto et al. (2007 ) Is produced monthly over a ton of solid waste in the University Restaurant, due to lack of trained staff and student community, which does not consume the entire meal available. 2. MATERIALS AND METHOD This work is housed in an extension project developed in the months from May to December 2009 in the University Restaurant UFCG - Campus I, located in Campina Grande. About the purposes, the extension project has an exploratory and descriptive. As to the means used, the search literature, documentary and field. The study was conducted in accordance with the following steps: Collection of documents the company's operational and research literature on the topic;

Equalization of the knowledge of academics involved in the project, regarding the Environmental Education and Sustainable Development;

Conducting site visits to the University Restaurant for structured questionnaires to its employees, to detect the level of knowledge, challenges and needs, on the theme of Environmental Education, aiming to obtain a real assessment of the situation;

Promoting awareness lectures and training to equalize the skill levels of employees, showing the importance
of environmental education; Preparation of a booklet on that topic. It is emphasized that all actions were successful thanks to a partnership of the University Restaurant managers, as well as all employees. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Coordinated by the Dean of Student Affairs (PRAC), the University of UFCG Restaurant is a unit designed to offer two daily meals (breakfast and dinner) to more than 1000 undergraduate, graduate, enrolled in the centers that work Campus (STC, CTRN, BIC, and CH CCBS). Estimated to be provided daily, on average, around 400 meals at lunch and dinner meals at 170. During the semesters are provided, on average, 26,060 meals per month. In it are stationed 32 staff who work in different areas such as management, nutrition and support (cooks, butler, boilermakers, assistants and cleaning staff). The UR / UFCG - Campina Grande, runs weekdays from Monday to Friday, from 7 to 19:30 pm, during the two academic periods offered by the institution, with a duration of approximately 8 (eight) months per year . 3.1 Diagnoses of the contributors to the University Restaurant In order to allow better preparation of the strategy for training for employees, had the objective of drawing an average profile of respondents by identifying the age and educational level, to create subsidies for the questionnaire on Environmental Education (EE). Thus, the items below identify their respective profiles. a) Age group - Table 1, below, has the average age of respondents. Table 1 Faixa etria mdia dos entrevistados Age Group 18 24 years 25 31 years 32 38 years 39 45 years Maior que 45 years Total Quantity 2 4 2 4 20 32 Percentage 6,25% 12,50% 6,25% 12,50% 62,50% 100% Cumulative Percentage 6,25% 18,75% 25,00% 37,50% 100,00% -

It has been that the vast majority of employees has an age over 45 years, highlighting the need for more explanatory lectures, in which they should display in its scope to current environmental conspiracy and its effects on everyday life. b) Educational attainment - In Table 2, below, has the means of education of employees. Table 2 Mdia de escolaridade Scholarity Elementary school (complete) Elementary school (incomplete) Secondary (complete) Secondary (incomplete) Total Quantity 8 6 15 3 32 Percentage 25,00% 18,75% 46,87% 9,38% 100% Cumulative Percentage 25,00% 43,75% 90,62% 100,00% -

Through the picture seen above, it is observed that most employees have a college degree, although there is wide variation in knowledge levels of employees, which must be taken into consideration in training and those

in the act of giving the seminars. Given this context, the content of the lectures were more explanatory, with lots of pictures.

c) Questionnaires on Environmental education -related with University Restaurant - Table 3, below, has been the average response of employees

Table 3 - Knowledge of environmental education at the University Restaurant Questioning Do you think the separation of waste (selective collection) should be deployed in the University Restaurant? Do you think the students of the institution to effect waste food after meals? Do you believe that there is wastage of water in the University Restaurant? You believe that no waste of electricity in the University Restaurant? Have you heard about Environmental Education? You know what it is for Environmental Education? You think it is important to receive information and participate in activities of environmental education, aiming to improve the quality of your life and your community? Do you think the students of the institution may be considered well informed about environmental education? You think it would be interesting to use disposable items such as cups, plates and cutlery? Yes 96,87% 50,00% 18,75% 12,50% 43,75% 40,62% 93,75% 81,25% 62,50% No 3,13% 50,00% 81,25% 87,50% 56,25% 59,38% 6,25% 18,75% 37,50%

Through the picture shown, indicates the need for information on EE for employees of the University Restaurant, although they have demonstrated positive discernment regarding adoption of environmental practices, such as the need to implement separate collection (96.87%) and reuse of disposable materials (62.50%). However, most employees (59.38%) has no knowledge of EE, although most believe it is important to receive information about it (93.75%). Moreover, developers say the majority (81.25%) that students are well informed about the issue of EE. 3.2 Plan of action Known profiles of employees, held a training program addressing the thematic areas of EE. In contrast, we found a difficulty: the team of employees working in only one record, knowing that there are two teams of developers, who work in the morning and that obram in the afternoon. As the pace of work is intense, due to the large number of meals served, has become a complex task to bring them together in an auditorium for seminars. Thus, the panels were composed of verbal communication, body to body in the University Restaurant UFCG own with the aid of leaflets, posters and booklets. On the issue of EE, it was evident the current situation of society with its negative impacts on the environment, and the way each individual can minimize such impact, contributing to the solution of environmental problems. In short, the action plan on capacity building / training in EE may be represented by Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Plan of action for environmental education at the University Restaurant. Adapted from Day (2006) As a result of employee training and active participation of academics involved in the project, we elaborated a technical booklet entitled "Environmental Education in the UR", as shown in Figure 3. The booklet was distributed among employees during the training.

4. CONCLUSIONS In order to corraborar for waste reduction in university restaurants is essential to know the players involved in this scenario, whether employees or students as users. The information passed through seminars applied to employees shows up as a fairly favorable environmental education theme in order to contribute to waste reduction for the environment. Finally, it is known that the success of EE relies on a continual awareness of the academic community, it is suggested that the Higher Education Institution (HEI) periodically check the following items, as is related to Tbilisi Conference (1977): a) Integrate the culture of EE across the academic community, promoting the importance of the environmental dimension; b) Designing programs to check whether the EE practices adopted in various sectors on the campus of HEIs have sustainable features, deleted and / or minimizing the erroneous actions on the mantle of the use of natural resources; c) Encourage the creation of outreach programs under the theme of sustainability university, seeking the release of its importance and practices. UFCG currently has 90 outreach programs, which have the purpose of encouraging the socialization of knowledge, improving the training of professionals as citizens, enabling linkage with teaching and research while also allowing the transforming relationship between the university and society with the aim of improving the living conditions of beneficiary communities. Of this amount, 21 are addressed to the environmental theme, showing a good percentage of the total, however, only three are focused on sustainability in higher education institutions. It is therefore a need for greater synergy in the implementation of environmental programs aimed at the academic community. d) Create partnerships of various segments of society (industry, governments, institutions and other social representativeness), seeking to develop strategies and action plan for sustainable, providing a continuous EA, fighting the natural problems emerging; e) Provide periodic training to employees of the University Restaurant on environmental matters and / or EA aggregating them environmentally sound knowledge, and providing environmentally responsible work; f) To awaken the interest of the City University of UFCG, about creating a program that contemplates Composting (which is the name given to the transformation of organic solid waste in a good, cheap fertilizer). This compound is a good fertilizer, for its excellent qualities, improving the physical, chemical and biochemical soil and can be used in gardens and lawns within the existing campus I of the IES; g) Revaluation of the internal IES, with respect to teachers and revision of curricula, and increasing interaction between university departments.

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