BEErasmus Erasmus Project

Project Title

BEErasmus

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Creativity and culture; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

The aim of the project work was to approach the bee as a carrier of culture in Europe in different ways. The disappearance of many insects and thus also many bee colonies as a result of the use of pesticides, monoculture and the sealing of green areas were the starting point. The question arose as to what can we experience in Seiersberg-Pirka (AUT), Varazdinske Toplice (CRO), Ljutomer (SLO) and Klosterfelde (DE) and which changes can we initiate ourselves. We also had to acquire knowledge about the bees and work out concrete instructions for a change in dealing with nature. In order for the project to be successful in the four countries, local and regional cooperation partners had to be found who would support teachers and students in their endeavors. All schools succeeded in doing this. In Ljutomer there was support from beekeepers, forest workers and the Deputy Environment Minister, in whose presence trees were planted. In Klosterfelde we were supported by local companies, the forest ranger and the community. A letter sent to the Federal Chancellor Dr. Merkel was written, was answered by the head of the Chancellery. In Seiersberg-Pirka there was support from the community and an agricultural school. In Varazdinske Toplice we were welcomed by the mayor who supported the project. In this way, we achieved a greater reach than we had thought possible and thus brought the project and its urgency to the public nationwide. The school public of all schools is around 3,500 people, the total coverage could have been around 15,000 people, if all media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, newspapers, official gazette, letters) and people reached in the communities are taken as a basis.
During the course of the project, the learners at the Klosterfelde primary school were able to draw conclusions from the knowledge they acquired and to change their behavior. This can be seen in concrete terms in the handling of rubbish during breaks, work in the school garden, and participation in community environmental projects. Since environmental education is an important part of everyday school life, this generation of schoolchildren should see significant changes in relation to the problems explained.
The Fridays-for-Future movement also plays a role with the older students.
Our findings were documented in the BEEweb (https://bee-online.jimdofree.com/), in the BEEbook and on the project homepage (https://gemeinsam-in-europa-lernen.jimdo.com/). The BEEbox – a self-developed learning box filled with its own materials – is used to obtain information and BEEsmart should secure what has been learned in a multilingual, team-oriented and playful way.
The learning objectives were always with the help of music (Maya the bee, sung in three languages), games (bee cup, relay competitions), art (logo competition, spring pictures, bee pictures), specialist teaching (biology, history), expert panels (beekeepers, museums, foresters) and through the Reached help from parents and grandparents. We have not only covered many areas and enabled the children to get involved where their skills are most valuable, but also brought different generations together.
The added value for all involved learners and teachers lay in getting to know European cultures in terms of language, food and sights, recognizing similarities and differences, jointly pursuing a learning goal and exchanging examples of good teaching practice.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 107400 Eur

Project Coordinator

Grundschule Klosterfelde & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Osnovna sola Ivana Cankarja Ljutomer
• Volksschule Seiersberg
• Osnovna skola Antuna i Ivana Kukuljevica