Uma atividade pioneira : Os cursos de extensão em Botânica para alunos e profissionais de meio ambiente em Juquitiba , Sp

Abstract

This article reports a pioneer initiative of a group of students from USP, Unicamp and Uninove, which have been offering a field identification course of botanical families of Atlantic Forest trees from the metropolitan region of São Paulo in Juquitiba. The course has been based on the botanical research that has been happening since 2005 in the Alto Juquiá region. This research has given material to the production of a vegetative analytical key that allows the acknowledgement of the families and main tree genders. A didactic material was also elaborated and it contains by a handbook, with glossary, descriptive keys, sampling methods and collecting, drying and pressing plants methods, as well as an illustrative CD with over 220 photos of native species. Since January 2008 three courses were offered, with 44 participants. They had the opportunity to observe 106 branches of native species belonging to 54 botanical families,providing a general idea of the richness of the tree species in the Atlantic Forest Biome. The schedule of the course includes theoretical presentation, identification of the species using a dichotomic key, walks in some forest remnants and a game that closes the activities.