The complexity of environmental issues and the difficulty of dealing with its interdisciplinarity are problems that must be faced by teachers at all educational levels. In an attempt to achieve Critical Environmental Education, we conducted an extension activity entitled "The river and the school" that involved post-graduation and high school students. Through theoretical and practical interventions, the purpose of the extension was to make high school students realize the complexity and importance of the environmental question and relate them to their daily lives. The article analyzes the practice of jury simulation as a pedagogic resource for the proposal of Critical Environmental Education, associated with theoretical activity about legislative and environmental matters. We concluded that there is a need to combine practical educational activities and theoretical activities in the treatment of complex environmental issues, focusing them on real problems, so that students can emancipate themselves and develop the competence for critical analysis and decision-making in relation to the environmental issue.
environment and education; environmental education; high school; university extension.
