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 start of April, saying that his mother, a teacher, wanted to get bumblebees for the children, but wasn't having any luck getting them to settle. Many of us were trying to do the same thing at the time, but here, my gut told me it was a bit different.

I therefore contacted Petr's mother, teacher Barbora Melicharová, and it was confirmed that this was a case worth helping. Mrs. Melicharová was prepared, she did everything as she should have, she just lacked a bit of luck and time for it to work out. We quickly agreed within the team that we were going to do it.

At that time, unlike the rest of us, Karel had rock bumblebee queens flying around his mother's garden. Karel is an experienced beekeeper, so he soon managed to get a queen to settle, whom he wittily named „Libuna“. However, we agreed to let her settle in well and only take her to Liberec with the first workers. This was followed by abrupt changes in weather, which set back or even destroyed a number of nests. But Libuna, under Karel's care (he's a real doctor), raised the first workers and everything worked out.

On Saturday 1st June 2019, International Children's Day, I set off with a bumblebee to Liberec. I had arranged with Mrs. Melicharová that the children would also come and that I would tell them something about bumblebees. Libuna, with her family, was reclining on the back seat of the Škoda, nicely on a cushion (bumblebee car seats are not yet manufactured), fastened with a seatbelt – safety above all. 

When we arrived at the agreed address, it was a very pleasant surprise. Not only were there a load of children, but also their parents and teachers. Most importantly, it was a beautiful place for bumblebees, a little paradise – a large school garden, flowering trees and bushes, tall grass full of blossoms. There were also other places for insects, birds, and animals – shady nooks, piles of branches as natural shelters, tree stumps left to nature, bird baths, etc. There were also various play areas, educational boards. Parents, children, and teachers were working in the garden, with nature all around. Well, I must admit, I was glad we were here with Libuna today. This is a project worth supporting!

As I was saying, Mrs Melichar, the teacher, was well prepared and had even chosen a spot for the surprise – nicely in the shade of the trees, where the sun only shines for a short while in the morning. We placed the surprise on a raised spot, under a blooming Weigela. So, everything was perfect (unfortunately, the teacher didn't have her class register with her...). 

We settled the bumblebee into its new spot together and waited for the nest to calm down after the transport. In the meantime, the children arrived, mostly fifth-graders, and their parents too. We spoke to them for a while about bumblebees, but then it turned more into a discussion. The children and parents had genuine interest and knew quite a bit about bumblebees – thanks to Mrs. Melicharová and Mrs. Alena Šáfrová, the „natural history“ teacher. I explained to them what would happen once we opened the hatch, which had been closed until then. We all stepped back a little and fell silent. Of course, I was a bit nervous; I didn't want to disappoint the children, that would have been truly awful.
Ale Libuna, which the children have long since renamed Amálka, did not disappoint. Within 5 minutes, she sent her daughters out into their new home and bumblebee paradise. We didn't even count how many workers made a beautiful demonstration flight. Within 10 minutes, the first returned, then another and another. Well… everything went just as it should. Absolutely beautiful.

We were all delighted – the children received a gift for Children's Day, the teachers' dreams came true, and we at Čmelák PLUS also had our wish fulfilled. After all, what more can be done than to support teachers, who ignite the children's spark of interest in nature, especially for its protection and our coexistence with it.
Mrs teachers Melicharová, Šáfrová and certainly others do an awful lot and deserve our admiration. To all of us who are working hard here for you and for the bumblebees, it has given us a lot of energy for further work.

As you know, Ála, Ája, Jaromír, Honza, Karel, Jakub, myself, and others do everything out of enthusiasm and without expecting any reward. But occasionally, we do receive some reward.

Thank you to Mrs Barbora Melicharová and Alena Šáfrová and everyone from ZŠ in Liberec for all that they do for the children.
Thank you to the children and their parents for getting involved. We wish them all the best, and may Amálka thrive in that bumblebee paradise.

Our shared story also caught the attention of the media, and so a report on bumblebees at the primary school appeared on the portal iDnes. Have a look also at Video report, which is part of the article.

The original report was published on our Facebook page, Bumblebees PLUS. HERE