Geographical studies and environment protection research

This paper aims to present how education for geoheritage and geodiversity should take place both in the school curriculum and in extracurricular activities at all levels of Romanian education (middle school, high school and university). The research method consisted in applying two questionnaires (10 questions, most with answers to choose from) both to pre-university teachers (especially those in geography) and students/graduates (especially from geography faculties in the country). The obtained results demonstrate the existence of two different visions: for middle and high school education, education on geoheritage and geodiversity takes place sometimes formally (based on curriculum hours according to the school’s decision) but predominantly informally (based on practical field applications), with most schools educationally limited in terms of environment/sustainable development; in contrast, university education on these subjects has a formal character (based on dedicated courses or field practice modules). The results, although encouraging for the moment, show that there is a need to intensify awareness and education on geoheritage and geodiversity at all levels, especially in higher education, by introducing specific courses/content at all universities in the country.

The present paper aims at inventorying the geomophosites in Bucharest as well as introducing geotouristic itineraries that take into account the long-time developed high value cultural heritage of the area. The process included several stages: studying Bucharest’s relief and cultural-historical elements with tourist value from existing bibliography, cartographic methods (aerial photos and different editions of topographic maps), as well as the information gathered from field investigations; identifying and inventorying geomorphosites, assessing the population’s opinion about geoheritage (geomorphosites) and its capitalization in tourism activities, 100 questionnaires were applied; creating geotouristic itineraries and later promoting them. The most valuable and representative geomorphosites identified are: on Colentina Valley (the Plumbuita, Ostrov, Dobroeşti and Pantelimon hills) (aren’t located in the study area), on Dâmboviței Valley (Cotroceni, Șerban Vodă, Mitropoliei, Spirii, Filaret and Arsenal hills, Țăcăliei, Procopoaiei, University terraces, Dâmbovița Meadow). The authors suggest two geotouristic itineraries that emphasize the relationship between the scientific, cultural, and historic elements as well as the human-nature report within the urban area.