WHEN A SCHOOL BECOMES A SANCTUARY FOR LIFE

A small corner of a school garden can become the starting point for a major change, transforming students into observers of nature and ambassadors for biodiversity.

At Tinos Junior High School, students and teachers created a space to host some of nature's valuable, yet often overlooked, allies: solitary bees.

Inspired by their participation in the student storytelling competition "Once Upon a Bee" and through the collaboration between Beelosophy and the Environmental Education Centre of Syros, the students moved from knowledge to action, creating a pollinator sanctuary within their school environment.

The installation of the special ecological brick – a shelter for solitary bees, developed by the Democritus University of Thrace as part of Beelosophy's actions to support pollinators – became the starting point for an outstanding local initiative. With the support and guidance of the Ambassada Cultural Association, the school chose to connect the new sanctuary with the traditional dry-stone walling technique, constructing a small dry-stone wall in the school garden, inside which the bee shelter was placed.

This example highlights the way Beelosophy seeks to connect nature conservation with active community participation: a scientifically designed environmental solution meets local knowledge and tradition, creating new opportunities for education, collaboration and action.

The pollinator shelters initiative is implemented within the framework of the CYCLADES' WAY OF BEE-ING project, a collaboration between Beelosophy and the Environmental Education Centre of Syros, supported by the Green Fund.

At Tinos Junior High School, the next step is the creation of a small flower garden and the observation of pollinators over time, transforming the school into a living outdoor learning laboratory.