EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Dealing with Urban Biodiversity Through Butterfly Gardens: A Project-Based Learning Proposal for Pre-Service Teachers Training

Zoel Salvadó and Maite Novo ()
Additional contact information
Zoel Salvadó: Departamento de Didácticas Específicas, Faculty of Education, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Maite Novo: Biochemistry and Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: Research in environmental education points out the need for an improvement in pre-service teacher education training in this area. This proposal follows PBL methodology and focuses on the development of an environmental education project whose final product is the organization of a science fair for elementary school students. The 5-week project addresses the topic of urban biodiversity decline and uses the butterfly garden as an initiative to mitigate it. Four months after the program ended, a survey was administered to the 86 participating pre-service teachers. A mixed-methods approach was used, collecting quantitative data on perceptions of urban biodiversity decline, the One Health concept, and environmental education, along with qualitative keyword responses to open-ended questions about the butterfly garden’s impact and the project’s value for self-learning and professional development. Participants reported positive perceptions regarding butterfly gardens after participating in our environmental program, recognizing them as both a valuable educational resource and an effective initiative to mitigate urban biodiversity decline. Respondents showed a strong pro-environmental attitude, taking seriously their role in transmitting environmental values. Using a butterfly garden for teaching purposes offers insight into environmental literacy, connection with nature, and improvements in well-being and is a powerful platform for deep and meaningful pedagogical learning.

Keywords: urban biodiversity decline; environmental education; butterfly gardens; project-based learning; pre-service teachers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/2195/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/2195/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:2195-:d:1604451

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:5:p:2195-:d:1604451