Environmental education (EE), through its goals and practical foundations, invites people and communities to become aware of their relationship to the environment, and to act in ways that will produce the changes required by the current socio-ecological crisis. Despite the efforts of EE, there is a gap between awareness
and coherent environmental action. Research and practice reveal the limitations of EE, due to the complexity of the process of raising awareness and taking environmental
actions.

This article presents theoretical elements from interpretive and qualitative research, which contribute to defining the complex processes of becoming aware of environmental problems and taking action, and attempts to zero in on the contribution
that EE can make. Many complex and dynamic links form between awareness and action, which are at the heart of the process of change and the educational process. These links can be established within the very meanings awareness and action, within conceptual networks, within processes of becoming aware and taking
action in relation to the world, and also within educational proposals, particularly
those of EE.