This article brings reflections on possibilities and limitations for the development of school environmental education from a critical perspective. Discussions are presented based on the analysis of two experiences of environmental education developed in public schools on the suburb of the city of Rio de Janeiro. One was developed in 2014 based on a master’s research. The other experience takes place since 2018 and is based on permaculture and agroecology as school subjects. From these analyzes, it was found that these thematic areas can act as key elements to facilitate a pedagogical process committed to the unveiling and the search for solutions to different dimensions of the contemporary socio-environmental crisis.