Bees for Education
Nature as part of the classroom
At Lindberg primary school in Winterthur, there's a buzz – and not just metaphorically. As part of the "Bees for Education" project by Wildbiene + Partner and Acker Schweiz, the BeeHome Observer was installed so that wild bees can be experienced first-hand. This gives schools the opportunity to bring nature experience directly to their doorstep.
What is Acker Switzerland?
Acker Schweiz is a non-profit organization that supports children in holistic nature and nutrition learning environments with its educational programs GemüseAckerdemie (for schools) and AckerRacker (for daycares and kindergartens). The children grow vegetables on their own plots, experience how food grows, and develop an awareness of how nutrition, biodiversity, and sustainable actions are interconnected.
In 2025, the educational programs will be implemented at approximately 1,900 learning locations in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, and Austria.
An example of this is the Lindberg primary school in Winterthur.
A Garden as a Classroom
For two years, the school has been part of the GemüseAckerdemie by Acker Schweiz. Teacher Irina Schneider recalls:
"We first started with the garden, then the BeeHome was added. Initially, it was a lot of new things, so we only really integrated the wild bee house into the classroom activities during a BNE project week."
BNE stands for Education for Sustainable Development. In this, children not only learn facts but also actively engage with nature, nutrition, and sustainability. And that's exactly what's happening here: during the project week, a veritable bee paradise was created in the school garden – with sand lenses, flowering strips, and self-built nesting aids.
A Peek Through Nature's Keyhole
What is already fascinating for adults causes children to marvel: observing wild bees during nest building.
"We explained in the classroom how the BeeHome works, and then went outside to observe. It was great to show: A bee is nesting here right now! It was worth waiting a year for the tubes to really become populated for that."
The fact that wild bees are now regular guests in the school garden not only pleases the teacher:
"You immediately see that it's all connected: our food, the pollinators, the cycle. The children realize that vegetables don't just appear in the store and that bees and nature play a crucial role."
Work hard, learn, marvel
AckerCoachin Nicole Weber was also present during the visit and immediately carried out a re-seeding. Together with the children, we marked the nesting closures on the BeeHome – a small autumn maintenance that supports the wild bee cycle.
Between vegetable beds, flower strips, and buzzing nesting aids, it became clear: more than just food is growing here. Here, knowledge, responsibility, and enthusiasm are growing.
Voices of the Children
The enthusiasm is also reflected in the words of the students:
"What I find most exciting is that you can observe the bees through the drawer."
"Bees are important because otherwise we wouldn't have any fruit."
"If I were a wild bee, I would tell people: Please plant even more diverse, nectar-rich flowers."
Such quotes show what happens when children don't just have nature explained to them, but experience it firsthand.
Effect that hums
Through the "Bees for Education" campaign, we have so far distributed 260 BeeHome Observers to 245 educational institutions in Switzerland and Germany. This brings nature experiences directly to the classroom window – and makes sustainable education come alive.
"It's great to see that the BeeHome doesn't just hang there, but that it triggers processes," says Irina. "From field lessons to project week and discussions about our diet."
And that's precisely what it's about: making nature tangible, understanding connections, and inspiring children about biodiversity.