Masquedós Magazine of University Extension

Presentation of issue number 14

Revista Masquedós — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:33:47 +0000

Participatory Methodologies for the Promotion of Critical Extension

Revista Masquedós — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 15:44:06 +0000

Within the framework of an invitation from the editorial team of Masquedós to the teaching collective that integrates the line of research “Production of situated knowledge and participatory and collaborative methodologies”, belonging to the Doctorate Program in Social Sciences of the University of Playa Ancha, Chile, the design and organization of the issue we present today was driven. The proposal is based on the conviction that the university, at all its levels, must open its doors to debate about the potential of participatory methodologies and critical extension to strengthen formative trajectories with an ethical sense of social commitment.

Participatory Methodologies for the Promotion of Critical Extension

Pablo Saravia — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 15:46:45 +0000

Presentación Dossier

Heritage and Affective Resignification of Playa Ancha Park – Valparaíso, from the Local Community Perspective

Marco Muñoz del Campo, Karimme Morales Aguirre — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:32:23 +0000

This article presents the results of the project “Memory of the University of Chile’s Site in Playa Ancha”, focused on the historiographic and testimonial reconstruction of the territory once occupied by the former Playa Ancha Park in Valparaíso, Chile. Through a participatory methodology that integrated documentary and oral sources, as well as community workshops, the study analyzes heritage-making processes, the socio-spatial transformations of the area, and the emotions associated with its disappearance as a public space. The research identifies a territorial and symbolic rupture caused by the establishment of institutions such as the University of Chile and the Naval Academy, along with a strong community demand for access, institutional openness, and the symbolic restitution of heritage values. The article proposes a critical resignification of local heritage based on lived experience and affective memory, suggesting implications for university management and the design of community engagement policies.

Participatory Methodologies: Frames, Dialogues, and Insights from Alternative Categories and Practices

Melina Masi, Pedro Gregorio Enriquez, Ana María Masi — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:38:40 +0000

Participatory methodologies in Latin America have undergone multiple transformations. This paper compares the Dialectical Participatory Methodology (DPM) and the Relational Participatory Methodology (RPM), introducing the categories of territory, ritual, and body to foster a plural space.
The first section explains the methodology: an integrative literature review was conducted, establishing selection criteria and defining analytical categories for critical evaluation.
The second section is divided into three parts. First, it describes the DPM, which emerged in the mid-20th century from the Latin American critical perspective, focused on the political-educational organization of popular sectors. Second, it presents the RPM, associated with the “other-perspective” developed at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, which integrates multiple approaches and promotes a vital conception of practice. Third, it analyzes the proximities and distances between DPM and RPM, seeking a respectful dialogue that allows the coexistence of diverse ways of thinking and inhabiting.
The third section addresses the intertwined categories of territory, ritual, and body. These notions challenge dichotomies such as nature/culture and body/reason, inherent to Western Eurocentric logic, and offer a novel perspective on participatory methodology.
It is concluded that participatory methodologies are living fields. Although DPM and RPM have generated diverse developments, their transformative capacity would be enhanced by integrally weaving categories and practices.

Participatory methodologies at the National University, Costa Rica: a critical extension perspective

Priscila Mena García, Humberto Tommasino Ferraro — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:43:13 +0000

Three substantive areas have comprised Latin American universities since the last century: teaching, research, and outreach. The latter is the pillar that enables the university's interaction with society, specifically with those vulnerable sectors of society, whether due to age, geographic location, social class, or other factors that limit emancipation and social equality. The situation described above prompts a constant rethinking of the ethical and political positioning of universities, as well as their social commitment in difficult times such as those we are experiencing today, in which the autonomy of public universities is threatened by market forces. For these reasons, it is essential to understand how to improve outreach practices to contribute to social transformation. This article presents the main results of a qualitative research project conducted at the Universidad Nacional (UNA) of Costa Rica. The objective was to identify and critically interpret the interaction between territories and the university's outreach teams based on case studies of programs and projects carried out at four of the university's campuses. From the perspectives and voices of the participating communities, we sought to understand the types of methodologies applied, contributions achieved, and challenges within the framework of critical outreach

Reflections on the situation of indigenous women in San Francisco de Opalaca, Honduras; from the perspective of critical feminist dissemination.

Merlin Ivania Padilla Contreras, Yenny Aminda Eguigure Torres — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:15:35 +0000

The situation of women in Honduran indigenous communities continues to be subordinate to processes of patriarchal, ethical, and social domination that limit their opportunities for participation and decision-making in the community. This document reviews the situation of indigenous women who participated in the outreach project carried out by the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) in San Francisco de Opalaca, the first indigenous municipality in Honduras. The objective of the study is to analyze the gender dynamics and tensions faced by women in community participation for the implementation of the comprehensive local development plan of the Lenca people. The study is qualitative and ethnographic in nature, focusing on the study of communication, participation, and power distribution relationships that, from a critical extension approach, are proposed for the implementation of collective actions for community organization and life. The main finding is that women's participation is present in the development of the Plan; however, their voices remain silent and their role is relegated to collaboration that is neither recognized nor valued by community members. Among the main conclusions from the perspective of critical extension and the University is the need to raise awareness among women about the importance of asserting their ethnic, gender, and class identity, the pursuit of horizontal relationships and equal participation, mitigating gender and racial violence, and ensuring their contribution to community development and social transformation.

Methodological Reflections on PE from a University Outreach Experience

Álvaro Javier Di Matteo, Diana Gabriela Vila — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:48:46 +0000

This presentation is situated in the field of Popular Education (PE) praxis. In this sense, we propose to share some methodological reflections based on the reconstruction of outreach activities carried out by our team, from a Latin American perspective on adult PE. Initially, we will frame these actions within a comprehensive proposal that articulates different functions of university work linked to outreach, teaching, and research. Next, we will present our theoretical and methodological position regarding PE, and from there, we will focus on the reconstruction of two concrete action experiences. Finally, we will outline some methodological reflections that, we believe, can contribute to discussions in the field of PE, related to the contextualization of training processes, agreements with the groups involved in the process, the search for their role, the various resources used in PE, and its pedagogical potential.

The challenge of collaborative methodologies in the Afromexican worlds. A work proposal

Gabriel Medina Carrasco — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:54:54 +0000

This text presents a proposal for collaborative research work in the Afro-Mexican community with the aim of recovering their voices on the impact of constitutional recognition (2019) on their community realities and on their process of construction as a sociopolitical subject. It starts from a problematization of the absence of change in their daily lives, their greater presence in spaces of political representation, and the weakening of their organizational bases. As part of the collaborative methodology, in its different phases, it emphasizes the construction of a heterarchical atmosphere and articulation in the research to enhance community participation in the design, research techniques, and process of interpreting the information collected. Among other challenges of collaborative research, we note the reluctance of academics to abandon methodologies based on the subject-object hierarchy and the mistrust of communities due to the long history of cognitive exploitation that has characterized their relationship with academia and critical extension.

Latin American Trajectories of Participatory Methodologies: Continuities and Transformations after Half a Century of Development

Tomás Koch, Pablo Saravia Ramos, Marcelo Rodríguez Mancilla — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:59:08 +0000

The methodological dimension is a central issue for critical extension. This work seeks to contribute in this regard by inquiring into the historical development of reflections on participatory methodologies in Latin America. To do so, it conducts a literature review, specifically of 48 documents published between 1971 and 2020. The results indicate continuities related to epistemological reflection, a constant concern with the research subject, and their role in the process of knowledge construction. Likewise, changes are observed in the emphasis of these reflections, their ethical-political orientation, as well as in the nature of critique.

Bringing Collective Knowledge to Light: Community Gardening and Intergenerational Practices in the Mesana Informal Settlement

Yanina Gutiérrez Valdés, Boris Valdenegro Egozcue, Christine Bailey Catalán — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:03:03 +0000

The article aims to describe the experience of an extension project currently being implemented. The initiative "Making Collective Knowledge Visible: Community Gardens and Intergenerational Practices in the Altos de Mesana Campamento" presents an opportunity to reflect on the process of building a participatory working methodology in connection with marginalized communities (campamentos) and subaltern groups (children, women, and the elderly), through pedagogical integration.

The methodological process is structured in spiral cycles, which implies a dynamic, cyclical, and progressive approach that is fed back by questioning the practices, adjusting them to the present (or absent) conditions and materialities.

The constant revisions, adjustments, and reflections during the project's development process allow for the gradual consolidation of its core purpose: the proposal does not directly focus on the community garden itself, but rather aims to build a meeting space that allows for the exchange of knowledge among people of different ages, while generating forms of collaborative work, learning about care, and occupying public space for community gathering.

“Peasant to Peasant” Methodology: Planting Agroecology from Schools of the Countryside to the University

Lia Pinheiro Barbosa, Ana Karoline Rodrigues Dias, Peter Michael Rosset — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:10:57 +0000

In this article, present a social process of territorialization of agroecology in agrarian reform settlement areas of in rural Ceará, northeastern Brazil, based on the implementation of the “From Peasant Women and Men to Peasant Men and Women” Methodology, in a joint effort between the Landless Workers Movement (MST), Vía Campesina, Countryside Schools, and Critical Extension. To this end, we focus on three aspects: 1) agroecology in the MST's political strategy; 2) the role of Countryside Schools in strengthening agroecology in rural areas; 3) the lessons learned by the University in co-construction with an agrarian social movement, of a pilot experience and an Extension Course for Facilitators of Agroecology in the Methodology. The approach of this methodology is based on the principles of Popular Education, Countryside Education, and Critical Extension, as well as the pedagogical processes of the “From Peasant to Peasant” Methodology.

Emotions in the body and on the map

Antonella Mauri, María Belén Nieto, Ruth Ortíz de Rosas — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:53:49 +0000

This article seeks to share the results obtained through participant observation, questionnaires, and mapping carried out during a workshop experience titled Mapping Our Bodies Situated in Public Space. This was an outreach activity that integrated Human Geography and Body Expression from an intersectional gender perspective, based on a proposal by the Office of Culture and Outreach of the National University of the South, in the city of Bahía Blanca, to develop a series of activities in commemoration of “Women’s Month” in 2024.
The aim of the experience was to reflect on lived experiences and emotions in urban space through the creation of alternative cartographies. The methodology was structured in five stages, with individual, group, and collective tasks that explored the mind-body-space relationship. In practical terms, the results showed the inequalities that arise when using public space and the duality of space–time, identified through spaces with topophobic and topophilic characteristics. Regarding the articulation between the two disciplines, although the experience proved to be highly enriching and replicable, the challenge of deepening this articulation still remains.

Extension Networks: Territory, Gender, and Social Clubs in the General Pueyrredón District

Lara Berg — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 02:44:01 +0000

The main objective of this paper is to deepen theoretically the experiences carried out in the field of university extension during 2024, as a result of two proposals approved and funded by the National University of Mar del Plata. In this sense, we will detail the actions carried out in articulation with neighborhood and sports clubs of the city, and the actors involved (students, teachers and professionals) who, for different political, neighborhood, associative or civil belongings, articulate the critical extension in their socio-community places of belonging. In relation to the latter, the aim is to explore how territories are built from the subjects that inhabit and make the city. On the other hand, from an intersectional perspective, we will focus on gender issues related to sports activities, specifically on the structural inequalities that limit the access of girls and adolescents to the field of soccer.

Assessment of the Native Flora of Arturo Seguí (Buenos Aires) for the Prevention of Zoonotic Diseases

Corina Antonela Bainotti — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 03:10:12 +0000

Human, animal, and environmental health are interdependent, a paradigm acknowledged by international health organizations as One Health. A healthy environment reduces the likelihood of disease transmission, directly improving the quality of life, especially in vulnerable communities. Native species, adapted to the specific resources of their ecosystems, act as indicators of environmental health when their recognition and sustainability are promoted. This paper presents a case study from a university extension project led by the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the National University of La Plata. The initiative implemented an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional approach to prevent zoonotic diseases by promoting awareness and care of the environment in the Arturo Seguí area. The methodology involved a prior exchange of knowledge through community-based activities, enabling a multidimensional understanding of the surrounding ecosystem near the “Centro Comunal Casa Común Arturo Seguí”. A central challenge was to create new feedback spaces among participants. This experience encouraged collaborative reflection on the role of biodiversity in daily life and its impact on well-being, with particular emphasis on native flora as an environmental health indicator.

Program to strengthen neighborhood commissions of the FACSO-UNA

Olga Paredes Britez — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 16:08:49 +0000

The Neighborhood Committees Strengthening Program of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National Univer
sity of Asunción (FACSO-UNA) aims to train community leaders who are part of neighborhood committees across
various cities, strengthening both their internal organization and their projects aimed at local development. In its
f
irst edition, the program revealed that 75% of participants had never previously accessed similar training oppor
tunities, thereby creating a valuable space for collaboration between academia, local authorities, and communi
ties. In the 2024 edition, participation increased by 26.15%, reflecting the growing interest among local territories.
Additionally, cooperation agreements were signed with several municipalities, and the program was declared of
municipal interest by four cities, including the capital, as well as of departmental interest by the Government of
the Central Department. This article analyzes the program’s achievements, its challenges, and future projections,
highlighting its impact on citizen participation and the strengthening of community networks for local development.

A bridge between cultures: worlds and representations that come together in teaching practices

Sebastián Domingo Perrupato, Miriam Kap — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:21:00 +0000

This paper addresses the experience carried out by the Educational Innovation Extension Group, part of the Faculty of Humanities, National University of Mar del Plata. The extension project, carried out since 2018, seeks to build bridges between the dynamism of the cultural practices of students and that of teachers through innovative teaching practices that generate transformations within educational communities. The experience brings together the voices of different community agents and extension workers in stories from logbooks that move while inviting a deep reflection on the school today.

From the Survey to the territory: building actions to prevent chronic kidney disease

Rocío Navarta, María Georgina Oberto, Mariana Láquis, María Alejandra Celi — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:31:26 +0000

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an increasing public health concern worldwide, affecting millions of people, particularly in Argentina. Its prevalence has risen due to risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and inadequate dietary habits. As part of an initiative led by a research team in collaboration with the Society of Nephrology, Hypertension, and Internal Medicine of Córdoba, an outreach project was developed by students and faculty from the Nutrition Program at the National University of Córdoba. The project aimed to raise awareness in the community about the importance of nutrition and healthy habits in preventing CKD. A diagnostic survey was conducted to assess the community’s knowledge and practices regarding sodium and water consumption. The results revealed that many individuals were unaware of nutritional recommendations and engaged in dietary habits harmful to kidney health. Based on these findings, various educational interventions were designed and implemented, including the distribution of informational materials and nutritional counseling sessions to promote healthier habits. The active participation of students enriched the awareness-raising process and allowed them to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world settings. This comprehensive approach, grounded in diagnostic findings, facilitated the development of strategies tailored to the community’s specific needs, strengthening kidney disease prevention efforts while enhancing students’ academic training.

Getting to know the plants around us

Andrea Isaguirre, Marío Franco Moyano, María Angélica Gil, Marta Matilde Moglia — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:42:01 +0000

University extension involves the interaction between the university and its surroundings, promoting social, community, cultural, and environmental development. One of the main educational focuses within university extension is the recognition of theoretical and pedagogical aspects that can improve and encourage learning. In this context, Environmental Education encompasses a range of knowledge, values, and environmental practices that come together to support civic education, emphasizing the right to a healthy environment. Based on prior concerns raised at the primary education level of School No. 446 Pueblo Puntano de la Independencia, the aim was to help 5th-grade students at this institution—located in the Mirador del Portezuelo neighborhood in the southern area of San Luis City, Argentina—become familiar with the plants in their environment. The project sought to foster the development of a cross-curricular, creative teaching approach that offers a variety of strategies. Through direct experiences, students strengthened skills in Literature, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and other disciplines by learning about plants within an interdisciplinary framework. This work focused on encouraging students' commitment to caring for native vegetation, consolidating their knowledge through exchange and contact with the world they interact with daily. Students not only shared knowledge about the uses of plant species but also expressed their critical views on the treatment of public spaces.

Costa Rican university extension brings English teaching to local communities: a critical perspective

Graciela Ferreiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:50:33 +0000

University extension constitutes one of the pillars of the social function of universities. By mandate of the state regulator, it must be included and promoted. However, there are few studies that have analyzed the impact of this activity on student training or on the benefits perceived by communities.

In the case of the English Teaching program at UAM, there are three exclusive school projects where students who wish to do so provide free courses to the population. This study explores the scope of this connection from the perspective of the various actors involved.

The sample included fifteen students who were carrying out their University Community Work (TCU), twelve faculty members from the program, ninety-three service beneficiaries, and two administrative staff members, to inquire about their experiences and criteria through digital instruments and interviews that were analyzed under a mixed approach.

The results indicate that the existing knowledge among faculty and students about the nature and regulations of the TCU is not sufficient. Students show satisfaction with the contributions they perceive in their development as future professionals and in the social work that allows them direct contact with social reality. Service beneficiaries express high satisfaction with it; however, they suggest some improvements.

In general terms, it can be affirmed that the university makes significant efforts to project itself toward the community in an appropriate manner. However, there are several aspects to be improved. Additionally, it concentrates on a single axis of action, wasting other opportunities for social impact

Play and Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Systematization of socio-educational practices in higher education for an experiential approach to Comprehensive Sexuality Education

María Victoria Victoria Rodriguez, Claudia Andrea Castro, Juan Pablo Rojas — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 16:33:06 +0000

The systematization of the Socio-Educational Practice (PSE) Playful Moment, developed during 2024 at UNICEN, is shared. The purpose of the communication is to analyze and recognize the ways in which games and playing influence the construction of epistemological, ethical-political, and diversity perspectives that can contribute to the redefinition of the learning of those who participate in the different instances that the PSE offers. The foundations and background of the PSE in the journey towards the curricularization of the extension are described, the considerations of students, graduates, and teachers who make up the work team are recovered, as well as the voices of university students, teachers from secondary education institutions in the Tandil district, and the district representative of Comprehensive Sexual Education, and challenges for its implementation in future editions are proposed.

Social and employment integration in a vulnerable community in Córdoba: outreach practices in Social and Community Psychology from a participatory action research perspective

Milagros Agüero Sepulveda, Agustin Catania — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:15:01 +0000

This article describes a university outreach experience carried out within the framework of the Social and
Community Psychology course in the Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at the Catholic University of Córdoba
(UCC). The experience, framed within the Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology and guided by the
community intervention guidelines proposed by Mori Sánchez, aimed to strengthen the capacities for social
and labor insertion of members of a vulnerable community in the city of Córdoba. The intervention consisted
of participatory workshops focused on acquiring digital skills, vocational guidance, and preparation for job se
lection processes. Approximately 15 people aged between 17 and 35 participated, showing significant progress
in the use of technology, the development of job profiles, and the strengthening of self-confidence, as well as
experiential learning for university students. The experience reaffirms the value of linking academic training
and community praxis as a way to promote social inclusion, active citizenship, and community transformation.

University and Rights: Experiences of the Interdisciplinary Childhood Team, Extension Secretariat of FaHCE. UNLP

Luciana Ermelinda Qüin, Leonela Musso, Giuliana Victoria Trotta, Juan Osácar — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:23:32 +0000

This article presents the experience of the Interdisciplinary Childhood Team (EIN) of the Faculty of Human
ities and Education Sciences at UNLP, a program created within the University Extension Secretariat. The aim
of this presentation is to share the work carried out over a decade in the field of extension, with children and
adolescents in social contexts marked by rights violations. Throughout its trajectory, the EIN has developed ac
companiment and support mechanisms, community-based workshops within university extension projects,
inter-institutional collaborations, and a body of tools and guidelines for working with children and adolescents.
This article seeks to systematize the experience of a professional team within the framework of university ex
tension and to offer useful guidance for work with children in contexts of social vulnerability, contributing to
the reflection and appreciation of university extension as a critical practice committed to social transformation.

Affects and Belonging in Spanish Learning Among Elderly Women Within the Framework of an Extension Program

Ana Carolina Morais de Souza, Paulo Henrique Pressotto — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 14:37:30 +0000

This article presents a critical analysis of the teaching-learning process of Spanish as an additional language for elderly women in the context of the UNAMI ( Universidade Aberta da Melhor Idade) program, developed at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The research, with a qualitative and critical-interpretive approach, is based on participant observation, reflective journals by the teacher-researcher, and reflexive records produced by her. The theoretical framework integrates contributions from educational gerontology (Uniscovsky; Lopes; Silva; Beauvoir), studies on affectivity and language (Ahmed), and decolonial approaches to university extension (Freire; Walsh). The learning experience emerges as a space of resistance to social invisibilization processes that often affect women in old age, allowing for the re-signification of personal trajectories and the reconfiguration of the sense of belonging to the university. The results show that learning Spanish activates affective memories, strengthens self-esteem, and fosters the creation of social support networks among participants. The foreign language becomes both an emotional and cognitive trigger, linked to the desire for knowledge and to the construction of new life projects. The students narrate experiences of overcoming fears, rebuilding social bonds, and expanding cultural horizons, framing the classroom as a space of affection, agency, and recognition. The article also highlights the transformative role of university extension as a practice of knowledge democratization and a break from traditional hierarchies of knowledge

EspaTerritorial Articulation of Academic Practices: a Teaching and Outreach Model at the University of Antioquiañol

Jorge Andrés Trujillo Ossa, Amador Herney Rúa Arias — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:51:35 +0000

Activities conducted outside the classroom allow students to interact directly with reality, fostering meaningful
and participatory learning. This work presents the results of the university extension project titled In Search of
Green Heritage: Trees with Neighborhood Identity -Semillateca-, approved in December 2023 by the Secretary of
Culture and Extension of the Universidad Nacional del Sur. This project is derived from some of the content of the
Biogeography Cultural course curriculum. There were two main objectives: to support neighbors by providing them
with tools for making decisions regarding interventions in the urban tree canopy, and to promote active community
participation in understanding urban forestry. This work presents the results of methodologies applied to study
vegetation and neighborhood perceptions of urban trees, taking the Parque Patagonia neighborhood in the city
of Bahía Blanca as the starting point. A survey of the tree population was conducted, establishing its diversity and
studying the variation in tree cover percentage over the past six years. Additionally, surveys were conducted within
the community to understand their valuation of the trees in their neighborhood. The importance of collective orga
nization among neighbors in response to tree removal for public works was recognized. It concludes that citizen ac
tions to protect green spaces strengthen the right to the city and the need for active participation in urban planning

Experience of Extension Curricularization in the Medical Program of the National University of Río Negro

German Guaresti — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:06:35 +0000

University outreach, as a core function of higher education alongside teaching and research, has gained increas
ing relevance in recent years. In particular, its formal integration into the curricula of Health Sciences programs—
known as extension curricularization—poses a strategic and pedagogical challenge with high transformative po
tential. This study analyzes the implementation of this strategy in the recently created Medicine program at the
Andean Campus of the National University of Río Negro, in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, using a mixed-meth
ods design. Institutional documents were examined and surveys were administered to students to assess their
perception of the contribution of the Fieldwork course to the learning process. The results show a positive eval
uation, with an average agreement level of 78.4%, reinforcing the effectiveness of the territorial approach as a
training tool. However, variations between cohorts and curricular units were observed, indicating the need for a
situated pedagogical review. It is concluded that the curricularization of extension supports the comprehensive
education of future health professionals by articulating academic knowledge with the social issues of the territory.

Urban tree canopy and citizen participation: results of an extension project in Bahía Blanca

Graciela María Benedetti, Valeria Soledad Duval — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Activities conducted outside the classroom allow students to interact directly with reality, fostering meaningful and participatory learning. This work presents the results of the university extension project titled In Search of Green Heritage: Trees with Neighborhood Identity -Semillateca-, approved in December 2023 by the Secretary of Culture and Extension of the Universidad Nacional del Sur. This project is derived from some of the content of the Biogeography Cultural course curriculum. There were two main objectives: to support neighbors by providing them with tools for making decisions regarding interventions in the urban tree canopy, and to promote active community participation in understanding urban forestry. This work presents the results of methodologies applied to study vegetation and neighborhood perceptions of urban trees, taking the Parque Patagonia neighborhood in the city of Bahía Blanca as the starting point. A survey of the tree population was conducted, establishing its diversity and studying the variation in tree cover percentage over the past six years. Additionally, surveys were conducted within the community to understand their valuation of the trees in their neighborhood. The importance of collective organization among neighbors in response to tree removal for public works was recognized. It concludes that citizen actions to protect green spaces strengthen the right to the city and the need for active participation in urban planning.

Dialogue of knowledge in addressing the society-nature relationshipNotes for thinking about our practices in the territories

Maximiliano Nardelli — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 03:00:14 +0000

This article revisits the need to foster spaces grounded in the dialogue of knowledges to address problems framed within the society-nature relationship. To do so, it builds upon the concept of civilizational crisis proposed by Enrique Leff (2011), which focuses on modern rationality and the socially hegemonic and legitimized ways of constructing knowledge. From this perspective, it problematizes our role as members of academia and (re)producers of knowledge that, at times, deepen this crisis. In this sense, this document seeks to advocate for the recognition and valorization of the diversity of knowledges constructed by different communities, as a necessary condition for creating spaces of dialogue and transformation of realities. Thus, it presents a theoretical reflection, supported by various references and rooted in both personal and external experiences. First, it discusses the value of diverse knowledges and wisdom(s), which are deeply tied to practice and interaction with nature, inseparable from the landscape, and thus particular, situated, specific, linked to lived experiences, without their holders seeking a separation between feeling and thinking. Then, it outlines key considerations for working from a perspective of dialogue among knowledges within our practices as university scholars engaged in territorial work, taking into account both the potentialities and the power relations that are historically woven around knowledge.