The present study was dedicated to understanding the system of meanings socially constructed and shared by Third Age groups of people living in urban areas of the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The theory of social representation was employed as a theoretical parameter to make comparisons between two third age groups, the Fonte Vida group from Belo Horizonte and the Clube Viver Melhor group from Betim. Twenty older citizens were interviewed and the outcomes analyzed using the content analysis. The representations showed that older people have understandings of environmental degradation and look broadly for cooperation, solidarity and education, in their participation as social players, and in a singular context, for ecological sensitization.
Environmental education; Elderly; Environmental; Social representation