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Bees and our future: From crisis to thriving
Bees and our future: From crisis to thriving
Content
Bees are the silent engines of our world. Without them, our nature and food systems would collapse. But bees are struggling: due to the use of pesticides, a lack of flowers, and habitat loss, they are disappearing at an alarming rate.
In this learning playlist, you are the pollinator. Just as a bee flies from flower to flower, keeping nature alive, you will take your knowledge and action to different places in your local area. Each activity you complete is like a load of pollen you deliver: you leave something valuable in every spot. Together, we will pollinate our community into a thriving place for both people and nature.
Your pollination steps:
🐝 Activity 1: The bee as a climate hero: The preparation.
You gather nectar (knowledge) to get ready for your flight.
🐝 Activity 2: Journey to 2050: Exploration in Virtual Reality.
You will see what the landscape looks like without pollinators. You will understand why your flight is so crucial.
🐝 Activity 3: Digital pollinators: The first landing via Augmented Reality.
You choose a spot in the park and leave your first "pollen" there in the form of a bee hotel.
🐝 Activity 4: Art helps the bee: Spreading through paper art.
You distribute your seed paper. Wherever you land, things will grow.
This playlist is part of the 360 Youth project.
Activity cover (c) Francesco Ungaro
Activities to complete
Complete the following activities, earn badges and you will see your playlist progress updated
Content
Step into the future via the Pollinator Park VR experience.
As a pollinator, you must understand where the threats lie. In this VR flight, you will journey to a bleak future where the flowers have vanished. You will see exactly what the landscape looks like without pollinators.
In this interactive park, you will explore a world in 2050 where bees are almost extinct. The European Commission designed this park as a warning: if we do not protect our natural environment, we risk losing the richness we currently take for granted.
In this activity, you will discover the direct link between biodiversity and your daily life. You will investigate the park’s "future supermarket." Can you spot which products would disappear from our Dutch shelves if pollinators could no longer do their job? The UN warns that we are entirely dependent on these small insects for our food security.
Your task:
Step into the Pollinator Park VR experience (via Meta Quest). Visit the supermarket and study the shelves. Which products do you recognise as items we eat every day in the Netherlands? Compare the supermarket in the park to your local shop.
Answer the following questions:
- Which three products in your shopping trolley are most vulnerable to the disappearance of bees?
- How would your daily diet (and your health) change in a world without these products?
- What societal action do you believe is necessary to prevent such a bleak future from becoming reality in the Netherlands?
🐝 Create your action plan:
Translate your findings into a personal plan. Map out which 'flowers' (products) are disappearing from our food system. Your report serves as your navigation plan: how will your choices help preserve these flowers? How will you shop more sustainably from now on to support pesticide-free agriculture? How will you encourage others to make conscious choices?
This activity is part of theVR in Cities of Learning and the Youth 360 project.
Activity cover (c) Pixabay
Get activity badge
Time traveler of the future Get this badge
Through the VR experience, you have discovered just how dependent we are on bees for our food. You now understand that if bees were to disappear, our supermarkets would look very different. By completing this badge task, you also have the chance to demonstrate your ability to think critically about your own diet and the changes we must make as a society to protect nature.
Tasks
Task no.1
Issued by organiser or scanning QR code
Show that you understand why bees are so important. Set out concrete steps that you—and the rest of the Netherlands—can take to ensure a thriving, healthy future for both bees and ourselves.
Skills
GREENCOMP
#Valuing sustainability
GREENCOMP
#Promoting nature
ESCO
#virtual reality of natural environment
GREENCOMP
#Systems thinking
ESCO
#inspire enthusiasm for nature
GREENCOMP
#Problem framing
GREENCOMP
#Individual initiative
Activities: 4
Started: 2
Completed playlist: 0
Time to complete: 1 hour 20 minutes
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Organisers
Dutch Cities of Learning
Badge issuer recognized with
Awero not-for-profit organisation manages this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact [email protected].
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