Project BEECOME: the conservation of bees, the protection of humanity

Project BEECOME: the conservation of bees, the protection of humanity

In the last years, environmental issues have increasingly attracted our attention, especially among young people. One of the most important topics, even if sometimes underestimated, is the necessity of protecting bees. These hard-working insects are, in fact, essential to our survival because of the central role that the pollination plays in the circle of life.

The discussion around this topic has now brought together several students, aged between 12 and 16, coming from six different European schools in Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. They are currently working on a project funded by Erasmus+, which is actively helping them to develop their awareness about the necessity to protect bees.

Throughout the project, the students are carrying out a variety of activities that have been thought by experts to help them to develop those resources and capabilities that are now known as ‘core competencies’, such as ICT, foreign languages, maths, science, writing. Personal skills that are essential for lifelong learning, like entrepreneurship, initiative, teamwork, autonomy, creativity, problem-solving, and so on, are enhanced as well.

The structure of the project is composed of six main phases:

– A lecture about the bees’ biology
– A film projection about how men and bees have lived together through history
– A lecture about what endangers the bees, followed by the realisation of an awareness campaign
– An exhibition about the relationship between bees and plants
– BEECOME fair about the usage of the hive’s products
– Inauguration of a bee-friendly garden with a wild-bee hotel.

Each partner of the project is assigned a specific phase to develop into final product. For instance, students and teachers from EFA La Malvesía have created a film about the European history between men and bees. Starting with a challenge that took place in Sicily, they designed the logo of the project. Afterwards, they travelled to Spain and France, where they held a meeting about the dangers suffered by bees, and organized activities to raise awareness about the role of bees in the future of our planet, such as campaigns, rallies, and a photography exhibition.

They also organized a workshop where they created motivational t-shirts. Moreover, the students designed posters and calendars during their fourth meeting, in Austria. Another meeting was to be held in March in Croatia, where the students had to share the typical recipes of their countries that saw honey as the protagonist and expose their health benefits. Nonetheless, due to CoVid-19, the meeting had to be postponed. It is needless to say that the students do not intend to give up on their project, and they will take it up again as soon as possible.

EfVET Newsletter

If you want to be informed about our latest news, please subscribe in the following form.