Green spaces and building sustainable environmental behaviour

Environmental education makes an effective contribution to the promotion of sustainable development for both present and future generations. Despite national and international efforts to promote environmental education, the objectives do not seem to be being achieved, given the anthropogenic threats that continue to exacerbate environmental degradation. Improving existing educational methods is essential if we are to build an eco-citizen society.The aim of this study was to contribute to the acquisition of sustainable environmental behaviour in primary school pupils, based on teaching methods applied to environmental education.A survey of pupils, teachers and national education officials, together with analyses of teaching content, showed that the development of green spaces in schools effectively encourages children to acquire sustainable environmental behaviour.