The role of professionals in two nature-based activities in brazil for visitors' connection with nature: rock climbing and birdwatching

• Autor(a) principal: César Teixeira Castilho
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Christianne Luce Gomes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34024/rbecotur.2017.v10.6540; http://hdl.handle.net/1843/66733
• topic: Leisure; Nature; Environmental education

This study aims to analyze the role of professionals involved in nature-based activities in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil and surrounding regions, namely: rock climbing and birdwatching. The research was based on two key questions: “How does the role of these professionals vary with different kinds of leisure experiences in nature?” and “What are the issues addressed in the discourse and practices of these professionals regarding environmental awareness and environmental degradation aspects?” The methodology applied herein was based on a qualitative approach to data collection. Data was collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews, which included 15 participants who worked as guides in this region. Participant observation took place during trips organized by such professionals, focused on observing the relationship between guides and participants, their behavior towards nature, and the contact established with the villages in which they developed leisure activities. The results indicated that the professionals who work in nature-based activities first came into contact with these experiences through family influence, during childhood. From such initial contact, they started to seek technical development in undergraduate courses, extension courses, and organizations that aim to further professionalize the field. Issues that involve environmental awareness and environmental degradation seem to have little relevance in the discourses and practices of rock climbing professionals. Otherwise, professionals engaged in wildlife viewing demonstrated greater sensibility to environmental issues. A less dichotomous view, in which barriers between human beings and nature are narrowed, can be achieved through these experiences of nature-based activities and, in this aspect, the professionals involved must be considered as extremely relevant.