Geoeducation and Geoethics Among the Children for Sustainable Tourism and Development of Aliage Geological Park in Spain

Most part of the population finishes their secondary studies without basic notions about Earth Sciences. For this purpose, the geoscientific community is promoting a reintroduction of this discipline and Geoethics, by means of field activities in geosites, geoparks, and geological parks. The survey conducted by the manager of the Geological Park of Aliaga (Teruel, Spain) aims to compare the geological, environmental, and ethical knowledge acquired by the children of the community attending summer courses on Geology and nature with regard to other children and adults. Results show that children who have been attending the summer courses had a higher knowledge than adults, not only about the environment, but also about the implications of the human activities in the territory. Children no students and young people have shown lower geological and environmental knowledge than adults, and therefore, they are falling behind in the basic education. This minor knowledge is inadmissible, due to the fact that they will become a predatory society incapable of judging the repercussions of the actions in the territory. On the other hand, the higher knowledge of the ex-students of the intensive courses shows the positive effect that these courses can have on the education of future professionals.