Filosofía ambiental de campo: Educación e investigación para la valoración ecológica y ética de los insectos dulceacuícolas (Field environmental philosophy: education and research for the ecological and ethical appreciation of freshwater insects)

In a rapidly changing world, to confront biodiversity losses and the lack of appreciation for and knowledge about the most diverse groups of organisms, it is urgently necessary to stimulate cultural shifts that transcend purely scientific and technological domains. This paper addresses this problem by focusing on one of the least known groups of organisms, and in one of the most remote regions of the planet: freshwater insects in the sub-Antarctic Magellanic ecoregion. The work of this thesis included scientific-ecological and environmental philosophical research that was integrated into formal and non-formal environmental education practices that value freshwater insects, particularly as indicators of climate change. The integration of science and philosophy was done adapting the Field Environmental Philosophy methodology that includes a four-step cycle. Transdisciplinary research on freshwater insects and their sub-Antarctic ecosystems served as a basis for the composition of metaphors and educational activities with schoolchildren, other members of the local community and visitors to Omora Park, in Puerto Williams, Chile. Based on this work, new outdoor educational activities were designed with the objective of awakening the interest of citizens for insects, and nurturing their perceptions about these organisms, their habitats and life habits. In this way, at a local scale this work aims to contribute to greater knowledge, appreciation and conservation of this unique sub-Antarctic biodiversity, and at a global scale it aims to contribute overcoming the under-appreciation for the most diverse group of organisms: the insects.