"Threatened bees, planet in danger"The project will allow the students to engage themselves in environmental protection and to gain an awareness of their citizenship at all levels, from local citizenship to European citizenship. It will allow them to develop respect for the environment and those around them, as well as a sense of their responsibilities in their daily life. The use in each partner school of an “apiscope” (pedagogical hive), an innovative pedagogical tool, will allow for the study and the observation of the life of a bee colony. The project will focus on three primary themes: environmental, social, and economic. The first year of the project’s function will be titled “Becoming an Eco-Citizen…” It will have two principal dimensions: scientific (Study of flora and fauna, maintenance of biodiversity, pollination, conservation of ecosystems) and citizenship (learning eco-friendly actions, fighting against pollution, waste management). The second year of the project will be titled “To Be an Eco-Citizen…”. It will have four principal dimensions: geographic (knowledge of the environment from the local to the European level), economic (regarding the production of honey), scientific (biodiversity), and citizenship (study of the hive as a society, reasonable use of resources). Linguistic, cultural, scientific, and citizenship exchanges will allow for an understanding of European nature and international nature of the problem of sustainable development. At the completion of the project, we all will have an understanding that the environment, the Earth, is a common good that is both fragile and unique. We need to protect it and ensure the longevity of its biodiversity. We will have become aware that to be a citizen of Europe implies responsibilities, rights, and choices. We will know that our individual actions will have consequences upon the collective life and future of everyone.
"The Erasmus + project “Bees Threatened, Planet in Danger…” which we have coordinated between 2016 and 2018 was aimed at engaging students in environmental protection and making them more aware of their citizenship within the school but also on the European scale. This aim was fully achieved, even beyond our expectations. The regular use of an apiscope within each school and by all classes involved in the project has allowed the students to have meaningful learning experiences and be more involved in the project, observing the “world of the living”. Our pupils have become more respectful of the environment, of their living environment, of their peers and of the world in which they live. The project was broken down into three major sections: environmental, social and economic. The first year of the project encompassed all aspects of enabling an eco-citizen to become a responsible citizen by bringing together the scientific and citizenship knowledge (study of flora and fauna, maintaining biodiversity, pollination, ecosystems preservation, learning the eco-friendly habits, fighting against waste, dealing with rubbish…) The second year running of the project enabled the implementation of acquired knowledge from the previous year (change of behaviour towards insects and more particularly towards bees) first approach of the project (production, writing, directing and staging of a musical, operation “seeds for the bees”…), maintenance of the garden, implementation of the compost bin and use of the compost, implementation of the rain water butt, selective sorting practice, production of objects made of renewable energy sources, work on meteorology, scientific process development, scientific drawing control, English language practice, honey recipe exchange and food tasting,… Thanks to their work and their analysis of studied issues, The students have gained awareness of the vital aspect of sustainable development. Their exchanges with European partners have allowed to build a common collective conscience. They know now that being a European citizen implies obligations, rights and choices. They are aware that each individual action has consequences on the future of all.