Teaching, learning and practising in Ethnobotany: Economic Botany in Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina).

POCHETTINO, MARIA LELIA; CAPPARELLI A; ARENAS PATRICIA; LEMA, V.; RIAT, P.

Montpellier

Congreso; 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology,; 2012

International Society of Ethnobiology

Taking as a starting point the conception that universitary extension is one of the conceptual and ideologic basements of University, as well as teaching and research, extension practices have been established since 2006 at the asignature Economic Botany. These practices are devoted to the promotion of activities: 1. that transfer knowledges and experiences produced by research to extra-university environment by means of their application or adaptation (in this case specific information referred to actually or potentially useful plants). 2: that contributes to students formation as those activities, by means of community capacitation, advising, prevention, orientation- contribute to the complementation of theorical curricula with located practice (Economic Botany students apply those knowledge gained by means of experience, to the solving of daily practical problems, for instance alternative ingredients of a recipe); 3. that have a significant social impact, that is a modality of extension that means profit to those communities settled in the region (for instance incorporation of botanical knowledge by children and youth in critical situation by means of ludic activities, establishment of medicinal gardens, joint preparation of cook books with members of different immigrant communities). With this activity and from applied ethnobotany approach, we achieved to involve the students of Biology and Anthropology that takes Economic Botany, in biocultural diverstiy issue, and its application to the solution of problems posed by local inhabitants referred to plant use and conservation, as well as to the diffusion of wisdom rarely considered in urban contexts, as the one where we are immersed.