SENSORY GARDENS AS A STRATEGY FOR INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Environmental Education is a key strategy in preparing conscious citizens to face socio-environmental challenges. In the school context, it promotes environmental awareness and collaborative learning, through implementing pedagogical practices that address the diverse abilities and needs of students remains a challenge. In this regard, sensory gardens emerge as an innovative approach that integrates Environmental Education and inclusion through practical, multisensory experiences. This study, a bibliographic review based on searches in ScienceDirect, SciELO, and Google Scholar, aimed to analyze the pedagogical and social impacts of sensory gardens in promoting inclusive Environmental Education, focusing on three main axes: pedagogical and social benefits, inclusive practices, and effectiveness of sensory elements. From the initial 28,100 results in Google Scholar and 410 in ScienceDirect, only nine studies were retained after successive filtering for critical synthesis, while SciELO yielded no results. The findings show that sensory gardens are effective pedagogical tools that integrate students with diverse needs, support accessible educational experiences, promote sustainability, and contribute to collective well-being, reinforcing inclusive educational practices, the development of socio-emotional and cognitive skills, and ensuring equitable learning opportunities within the school context.