Abstract
In this study it was intended to understand the meaning of the ecological care in the view of the students and teachers of undergraduate courses in the health area in a public institution of higher education and give to reflection moments on systemic environmental issues. The Grounded Theory was used as methodological reference and an interview with students and teachers in a Public Institution of Florianópolis was conducted between April and September in 2009 as technique for gathering the data.
The codification process resulted in the categories: Developing environmental awareness; Relating the ecological care to the different systems; Realizing the human interaction - environment - health; Developing an ecological awareness through new references and Feeling (de)motivation to understand the ecological care. It was concluded that it is necessary to train teachers in order to adopt new teaching methodologies able to raise and provide the development of ecological awareness of the academics.