Bumblebees PLUS at school – project examples

How Čmeláci Plus supported the spread of bombusophilia in Liberec – 21/6/2019 – Čmeláci PLUS 

A long story, but with a happy ending.

At the very beginning there was a message from Petr. Petr wrote to us at the beginning of April that his mother is a teacher who wants to get bumblebees for the children, but she can't manage to get any settled. Many of us were trying to do the same thing at the time, but my nose told me that it was a little different.

So I contacted Peter's mother, teacher Barbora Melicharová, and it was confirmed to me that this was a case worth helping. Mrs. Melicharová was ready, she did everything she should have, she just needed a little luck and time to make it work. We quickly agreed within the team that we were going to do it.

At that time, unlike the rest of us, Karl had queen bumblebees flying in his garden. Karel is an experienced breeder and he soon managed to settle a queen, which he jokingly named "Libuna". However, we agreed that we would let her settle in well and only take her to Liberec with the first workers. This was followed by sudden changes in the weather, which slowed down or even destroyed many nests. But Libuna was put in the care of Karl (he is actually a doctor), raised the first workers and everything worked out.

On Saturday, June 1, 2019, on International Children's Day, I went with the hive to Liberec. Mrs. Melicharová and I agreed that the children would also arrive and I would tell them something about bumblebees. Libuna and her family were relaxing in the back seat of the Skoda, comfortably on a cushion (the bumblebee safety seat is not yet produced), fastened with a seat belt - safety above all. 

When we arrived at the agreed address, it was a very nice surprise. Not only were there tons of children there, but also their parents and the teacher. Above all, it was a beautiful place for bumblebees, a small paradise – a large school garden, flowering trees and bushes, tall grass full of flowers. There were also other places for insects, birds and animals – shady corners, piles of branches as natural shelters, stumps left to nature, drinking fountains, etc. There were also various play areas, boards with lessons. Parents, children and teachers were working in the garden, and nature was all around. Well, I have to admit, I was glad that Libuna and I were here today. This is a project worth supporting!

As I said, teacher Melicharová was well prepared and had chosen a place for the shelter – nicely in the shade of the trees, where the sun only shines for a short while in the morning. We placed the shelter on an elevated spot, under a flowering weigela. So everything was perfect (unfortunately, the teacher didn’t have her student’s book with her…). 

We set the hive in place together and waited for the nest to calm down after the transport. In the meantime, the children arrived, mostly fifth-graders and their parents. We talked to them about bumblebees for a while, but then it was more of a discussion. The children and their parents were genuinely interested and knew a lot about bumblebees - thanks to the teacher Mrs. Melicharová and the "natural history" teacher Mrs. Alena Šáfrová. I described to them what would happen when we opened the previously closed flap. We all stepped back a little and fell silent. Of course, I had a little soul inside me, I didn't want to disappoint the children, that would be terrible - hell.
But Libuna, whom the children had long ago renamed Amálka, did not disappoint. Within 5 minutes, she sent her daughters out to their new home and bumblebee paradise. We didn't even count how many workers made a beautiful demonstration flight. Within 10 minutes the first one came back, then another and another. Well….everything just worked out as it should. Beautiful, beautiful.

We were all happy – the children received a gift for Children's Day, the teachers' dream came true and so did we, the Bumblebees PLUS. After all, what more can be done than to support teachers who ignite the flames of interest in nature in children. And most importantly, to do something for its protection and our coexistence with it.
Teachers Melicharová, Šáfrová and certainly others do a lot and deserve our admiration. It gave all of us who work here for you and for the bumblebees a lot of energy for our further work.

As you know, Ála, Ája, Jaromír, Honza, Karel, Jakub, I and the others do everything out of enthusiasm and without any claim to compensation. But sometimes we get some rewards.

We thank teachers Barbora Melicharova and Alena Šáfrova and everyone from the elementary school in Liberec for everything they do for the children.
We thank the children and their parents for letting themselves be set on fire. We wish them all the best for Amálka in that bumblebee paradise.

Our common story also reached the media, and so the report on the bumblebees in the elementary school also appeared on the iDnes . Also watch the video report , which is part of the article.

The original report was published on our Facebook page čmeláci PLUS HERE