The contribution of Geosciences in teaching of Civic Education in secondary schools: experiences of Citizen Science & Engagement in the context of the National Strategies for Sustainable Development (Strategie Aree Interne Valchiavenna)

The dissemination of a culture of respect and value of the territory is an essential component in strategies aimed at guaranteeing the population a future of well-being, social and economic development. The National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSSD) defines the national reference framework for environmental and spatial planning and programming processes in order to implement the sustainable development goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Among the strategic objectives of the NSSD are: "Decrease the exposure of the population to environmental risk factors", "Spread healthy lifestyles and strengthen prevention systems"; Preventing natural and anthropogenic risks and strengthening resilience". The authors report on the educational experience carried out with teachers and students from secondary schools as part of the "Strategie Aree Interne Valchiavenna" project, whose aim is to promote a geological culture, on a technical-scientific basis, that leads to respect for the environment through actions aimed at developing a geological-environmental knowledge of the mountains, of their natural resources and, at the same time, of the risks to which people may be potentially exposed, starting a bottom-up cognitive process, based on the concepts of Citizen Science & Engagement, for the protection and management of natural resources, risk prevention, monitoring and mitigation. The promoted activities were addressed to both teachers and students, providing them with ideas and tools for updating and improving their professional skills on the themes of "hydrogeological hazard and risk" to be included in the Civil Education programmes. The lectures were accompanied by educational workshops in the classroom and guided field activities that included the use of enabling technologies (web apps and geographic information systems) for the collection (directly in the field by using mobile devices), sharing and analysis of geolocalized data. In addition, following a game-based learning approach, environmental management games were adopted to improve understanding of hazards and awareness of related risks, in order to increase students' soft skills, such as critical thinking, creative problem solving and teamwork. Laboratory and multimedia educational tools were specifically designed and implemented for the Valchiavenna experimental area, planned in such a way as to make the students the protagonists of their own learning, promoting the observation of geological-environmental elements, landscape forms and processes and the development of risk perception in the mountain environment. Through the realization and use of mobile data collection and environmental monitoring tools a twofold aim was pursued: on the one hand, to develop observational, analytical and communicative skills, which represent an educational element and a tool for cultural development; and on the other hand, to contribute to initiating a process of two-way flow of knowledge of the mountain territory.