WATERS GUARDIANS AND (IN) DIALOG WITH CINEMA, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND CITIZEN SCIENCE: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT ON THE MOVIE-LETTES relato de experiência sobre o filme-carta

Abstract

The article reports on the experience of the project “Waters Guardians of the Triângulo Mineiro: Environmental Education for River Conservation,” carried out between 2023 and 2024 in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, to train elementary school students to act as multipliers of science, encouraging environmental awareness and community engagement in the conservation of the Tijuco stream. The movie-letter was created to record the activities, inspired by the methodology of “Inventing with Difference: Cinema and Human Rights,” and developed collaboratively between the students and the project team, summarizing the participants' experiences and perceptions. Photographic and audiovisual records were used to support these reflections. In the short film, it was possible to observe the success of the project, recorded in the participants' speeches, demonstrating that it was effective in strengthening the socio-environmental awareness of the participants, broadening their understanding of the importance of water resources and the need for environmental preservation, as well as providing an enriching experience of group work and interaction with the local community. In this context, citizen science combined with critical environmental education proved to be an efficient strategy for encouraging youth participation in environmental conservation and integrating teaching, research, and extension. The production of the movie-letter played a key role in documenting and disseminating these experiences, making them accessible and inspiring to other communities, thus broadening the project's impact.