UNITED POLLINATIONS OF EUROPA "Now the flower is frail. Then cold, storm and drought and it passes away. From then barren patches on earth. Within men bare men who have never tasted peaches, pears, melons, watermelons, plums, apples" (Jean GIONO). Europe has passed into the 21st century. It meets new concerns and questions our ways of life. Sometimes it shuts itself away, or even fragments. It looks skeptical, doubtful. Objective: Our goal is to bring young people together and to unite them to face the challenges of our time. One, indeed, is of paramount importance: pollination, as it is threatened by the scarcity of flowers and worsened by the progressive disappearance of bees. We have to wake up to this reality and raise awareness among young people of our nations, to open their eyes on different natural environments, experiment, change our practices and pass them onto others. Let’s scatter, let’s spread! Participants: Because it is deeply cross-disciplinary, this project brings together different educational pathways, from two French schools (the vocational high school in Pézenas and the agricultural college in La Canourgue), from a Czech Republic college (Gymnasium in Rumburk) or from a Spanish/Basque Country High School (Ordizia Ikastola). In those two last institutions, the students included in the project are in their final years that is to say the equivalent of Year 13 in UK and taking science subjects. As far as the French schools are concerned, the students attend vocational courses in their last year of qualification (they train in woodwork, administration and sales (Pézenas vocational school) or in aquaculture (La Canourgue). Thus, scientists, primary, secondary and tertiary workers will meet on a regular basis and share their skills. In concrete terms, ten young people from each of our four schools will be reunited in organized and educational vacation. Mobility: We’ve considered four study trips for each school. First, teachers and key people will meet in the agricultural college to learn about beekeeping, biodiversity and honey plants. This training will be combined with a discovery of the Cévennes and Grands Causses Regional Nature Reserve on the environmental theme. Thus, we’ll be able to think over and prepare adequate training stays for our students. Genesis! The second trip will involve 10 students at least from each school, who will embark on a 6-day-trip in order to discover a new cultural and natural environment. Prospection! Students will immerse themselves in the project and start the first construction work (beehives and honey-plants prospecting). Mobility will be held two by two at the same time over two separate weeks (April 20-25 and May 4-9, 2020), so everyone will be able to move and host groups. The third trip will gather two groups bound for one high school. In this way, Pézenas and Rumburk will go to Ordizia (September 23-28) while Ordizia and La Canourgue will head for Rumburk (October 14-19). Flocking! The aim will consist in grasping the first results as well as promoting them via media circles. Natural environment exploration will also remain the theme at stake. The fourth meeting will reunite all the actors of the project: honey-plants and their environment will be dealt with, events will be organized in a city certified APIcité. Let’s shine! Activites and operating results Our college students will then embrace those nature reserves and parks, will construct beehives, will sow, plant and collect! From 2019 to 2021, the educational team will think up a new programme that’ll allow to study the theme of pollination and bees in every subject. This substantive work will fit in the larger theme of sustainable development. In each school, students will set up their own original beehive and agreements will be negotiated between local organizations and apiarists. Throughout the whole project, learners will communicate between each other through the radio, videos, press, social media and organizing events. They will eventually shoot a multilingual film entitled “Beerasmus, the pollen of nations” in order to disseminate the observations collected. They’ll become proficient and proactive. They will rise to the current challenge by weaving sociability at the individual as well as the associative or interprofessional level, on a European scale on the one hand and on a local scale on the other hand. Finally, an international event will take place to round this project off and all the actors and participants will be convened. With this project, we hope that the young people will take up this ecological challenge, this European challenge - and become de facto citizens of the new century.
UNITED POLLINATIONS OF EUROPA "Now the flower is weak. Cold, storm, drought, and it is dead. Hence on the earth patches of desert. Hence in men great deserts of men who have never eaten peaches, pears, melons, watermelons, plums, apples" (Jean Giono). Our Europe has entered the 21st century. It is facing new concerns because it is questioning its way of life. It is withdrawing, sometimes fragmenting. It doubts, it is sceptical. Objective: The aim of our project is to bring together the youth of our countries and unite them in the face of the challenges of our time. One in particular: pollination, threatened by the disappearance of flowers and aggravated by the disappearance of bees. Also, this project aims to initiate us, in order to raise awareness among the youth of our nations; to discover several natural environments in Europe, to experiment with new knowledge, new practices, to exchange them, and then to relay them to other Europeans. Disseminate! Participants : Transversal in its essence, this project brought together a wide variety of schools from France (the agricultural high school of La Canourgue, and the vocational high school of Pézenas), the Czech Republic (Gymnasium de Rumburk) or the Basque Country/Spain (Ikastola d'Ordizia). In the latter two establishments, the participating students are Terminales Bac Scientifiques (natural science option). For the French schools, the courses are vocational (CAP Carpentry and BacPro AGORA or Sales in Pézenas, BacPro Aquaculture for La Canourgue). Thus, scientists, carpenters, service professions and agricultural trades will work together, with their respective skills, on several occasions. At least 10 young people from each of our 4 schools met during several stays. 5 waves of mobility were carried out: V1) Firstly, the teachers and key people of the project met as planned at the Lycée Agricole to receive training on beekeeping, biodiversity and honey plants. This training was coupled with several discoveries of the Cévennes and Grands Causses Natural Park, always around the environmental theme. Thus we were able to think about how to develop strategies adapted to our different students. This was Genesis! - Year 2020-2021: Global pandemic with waves of containment and border closures. The project was therefore revised in terms of duration and organisation of mobilities. V2) 2nd flows were carried out in September/October 2021. It involved a minimum of 12 young people from each school who went for 6 days to discover a new cultural and natural environment. Prospecting! The activity consisted in immersing the pupils in the project and in concretising many of the achievements worked on during the school year break (COVID). The first projects were started or even completed: beehives, live correspondence, honey prospecting, etc... As planned, the mobilities took place with a reorganisation of the groups to take into account the seasonality but also the very short calendar that we had to keep over the year (10 months to achieve all the mobilities). Thus everyone was able to go and receive. V3) These mobilities allowed us to receive our two foreign partners in France. Pézenas received Rumburk, while La Canourgue received Ordizia. As a highlight, we all met for the first time at Micropolis (insect city) Essaimage! The objective was to measure the results of the activities undertaken by each group, and to work on the dissemination of these results through media. The discovery of natural environments remained present; organisation of an event in an agglomeration labelled APIcité. V4) Pézenas went to Spain while La Canourgue went to Rumburk. The objective was to continue to measure the results of the activities undertaken. V5) At the beginning of June, all the partners met in Pézenas for the final grouping: action on melliferous fallows, dissemination, outreach! Activities and expected results : Our high school students have walked through natural areas, made beehives, sowed, planted... From 2019 to 2022, we have planned an in-depth study that will allow us to integrate the theme of pollination and bees, and more generally that of sustainable development, into our programmes and disciplines. Several actions and realisations were realised during the international meetings but also during the annual cycles: beehives, melliferous plantations, nesting boxes, insect hotel, board games, children's story and play, webradio, website, webconference, eTwinning. Our pupils were actors of their project.