A homemade laboratory applied to the phytoremediation of textile dyes by high school students in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Biosphere contamination is a current environmental and social issue that must be included in the school programme. It is essential that students recognize their responsibility and be aware about the generation and reduction of environmental pollution. Dyes are usually used in school activities and discharged into household effluents, constituting potential toxic agents. To offer solutions to this problem, it was proposed to evaluate the ability of Lemna sp. plants for removing synthetic dyes. For this, activities that require accessible resources and minimum safety standards were designed, which could be carried out by students at home in the virtual education modality imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The practical experience integrated theoretical-practical contents from different disciplines, achieving a true interdisciplinary dialogue. The use of Lemna sp. allowed to obtain a fast and significant dye decolorization, demonstrating the importance of biodiversity in the attenuation of environmental changes due to anthropogenic activities. This experience allowed us to arrive at an interdisciplinary, significant and situated learning through the implementation of the scientific method.