Teacher training on environmental education (EE) is a key element of promoting the restoration of ecological systems and insuring inclusive and equitable human development. Science and biology teachers play a significant role in favoring EE at Brazilian schools. This study investigates the presence of EE in the curriculum and aims to interpret the meanings of EE expressed in the discourse of students who are training to be biology teachers at a Brazilian public university, considering recent, related education legislation. The theoretical and methodological framework of French Discourse Analysis was adopted to identify social, political, and cultural influences expressed in the students' discourse. The discourse data comprised responses from voluntary undergraduate students to a semi-structured questionnaire. Most of the study participants claimed to have had contact with EE in their tertiary education and revealed multiple perceptions regarding this theme. The majority of the discourses indicated that EE meanings are restricted to conservation or preservation, and some indicated confusion regarding the purposes of both EE and ecology disciplines. There was little data indicating an association between EE and socioeconomic issues, which would be expected in terms of the more encompassing and interdisciplinary approaches recommended by legislation. The curricular matrix of this undergraduate course showed a predominance of hours devoted to courses that discuss the environment from the biological perspective in contrast to a small number of courses that discuss and promote EE from other perspectives. In addition, undergraduate students claimed that they had little contact with recent EE legislation. This scenario, reinforced by the naturalistic foundation discourse of EE in Brazil, probably affects the constitution of the discursive memories of these students, their discourses, and their future pedagogical practice. Recommendations are made in order to foster the development of citizenship at schools and to prevent the silencing of issues such as the conflicts and risks associated with environmental problems.