We Love Bees Erasmus Project

Project Title

We Love Bees

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Creativity and culture; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

The idea for this project grew out of public discussion about the reducement of the amount of insects. Our environment is suffering from a lack of bees. The big questions are: what threatens the insects’ living conditions? How big an impact humans have on insects’ habitats? If the insects would vanish, how it would affect human life? This project helps to teach respect towards our environment and nature in general. It gives students a possibility to act for nature and moreover, maintain a positive view to their future. In today’s world a tendency is seen where people lose their touch with nature. Respect towards nature has become a necessity.

Our schools’ values and operating culture’s guidelines encourage students to a more sustainable way of life. This project answers to this need. Also this project helps our schools to implement the curriculum in practise and increase students feeling of participation and cooperation.

The project’s topic is very interesting and motivating from the students’ point of view. They are able to do something meaningful for a theme that really concerns them. The project itself, provides teachers ideas for their teaching and improve their skills in questions concerning climate crisis. The teachers will be able to see how schools in other countries operate and they get tools to fight anxiety of global problems.

The countries chosen represent various climate types and natural habitats:
Finland: cool middle climate, rural habitats
Greece: mediterranean climate, hot dry summers, mild rainy winters
Iceland: cool oceanic climate, volcanic
Italy: humid subtropical climate, cold dry winters, hot/mild summers
Reunion Island: tropical oceanic climate, cool/dry – hot/humid, volcanic
Spain: dry climate, mountains

“We Love Bees” project objectives:
1. to answer the students’ need to understand, to adapt and to fight climate crisis.
2. to learn about insects’ importance in polling, primary production, decomposing
3. to increase knowledge about insect species, habitats, threats, capability
4. to show the wide perspective of insects
5. to increase awareness of insects’ role in nutrition
6. to protect insects’ habitats
7. to find ways to get benefit of insects without harming
8. to add cultural understanding, improve skills in english and technology
9. to teach students to love nature

Activities are designed not only for the students taking part to mobilities but for all schools’ students: a logo and photo contest, kahoot, snapchat filter, bug-survey, climate awareness-survey, writing contest, Clean environment -day, Earth Day and a SDG-theme day.

All mobilities are set a sub-topic that lead the participants grow to awareness of the insects’ situation.
1) Finland, Oct 2020: “The climate, habitats and typical insects in our country”
School: Photo contest
Students: Online bugbook: “Our country’s favourite bugs and habitats”

2 ) Italy, Jan 2021: “What threatens the insects’ living conditions?”
School: “What can I promise to do for nature?”
Students: “How polluted is our country?”

3)Spain, Apr 2021: “A Life Cycle In A Hive”
School: Attitudes research
Students: ”Attitudes towards bees and other insects”

4)Reunion Island, Oct 2022: “Just Honey”
School: Collecting, creating honey recipes
Students: ”Honey production in our country”
What can we do to save insects?

5) Iceland, Jan 2022 . “What can we do?”
School:SDG theme day
Students: Games of insects and/or SDG’s

6) Greece, Apr 2022: “Mythology and folklore”
School: Writing contest
Students: “Bees and other insects in our country’s mythology and folklore

Activities include beefarm activities (beehives, honey production, royal jelly, pollination), constructing habitats, an online bug-book, learning and observing insects, relevant visits and lessons, workshops and creative activities.
We hope to bring university knowledge to schools and to raise active citizenship by spreading meaningful awareness for example of farming’s influences.

The methodology used emphasizes flexibility and newal of knowledge. It bases on inquiry-based learning. Nature as a classroom encourages students to pose questions, research and find information to clarify key concepts. Solving problems with collaboration among the people involved is important. Interactions and self- organising teams are encouraged. Students learn to respect the others’ opinions in roles like organiser, scientist, cook, writer, presenter, designer. Teachers promote self-learning and critical thinking. Students cooperate under a guided discovery with teachers and get peer feedback from each other. The process is evaluated after each mobility.

The project answers to the students’ need to take the second and the third step: adaption and acting, not just studying climate crisis. This project encourages students acting for environment in their societies.
We grow to sustainability, learn from other cultures, learn sciences, tie friendships and we learn to love natur

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 197360 Eur

Project Coordinator

Ahmon koulu & Country: FI

Project Partners

• I.C. Regio Parco
• college quartier francais
• Landakotsskóli
• 3rd Junior High School of Rethymno
• IES ALBA LONGA