Profile of schools that visited the Area of Relevant Ecological Interest Mata de Santa Geneva in 2019

Abstract

Environmental Education and interpretation, recreation in contact with nature and ecological tourism are part of the objectives of the National System of Conservation Units. According to the Guidelines for visitation to Conservation Units UC), visitation may allow society to approach the nature, through living in the natural environment. Thus, managers of protected areas need to know the characteristics of their visitors, aiming to develop planning and management strategies for public use to make the tourist experience satisfactory. This work constitutes a profile analysis of the schools that visited in 2019 the Area of ​​Relevant Ecological Interest of Mata de Santa Geneva, located in the city of Campinas (SP, Brazil). Data were consolidated and analyzed using Excel. Using the Google Earth Pro application, the distribution of schools was mapped. Through data analysis, it was identified that most institutions that visited the Protected Area in 2019 were municipal, mainly schools from the city of Campinas. In addition, the early childhood education cycle was the one that most participated in the Monitored Visit to Schools Program. Knowing the profile of the schools that visit the Protected Area is an essential tool to identify essential weaknesses and potentials for the management, helping to evaluate the activities developed at the UC and continuously improve the implemented projects.