Hosted by SALL , contributed by yairbh on 19 December 2021
Aim
- Students' acquaintance with the world of bees and their relevance to the environment and our lives.
- Biotechnology product development for the benefit of the beekeepers community or the general public.
Co-creation with societal actors
The students learned a lot about bees and hives, including the way they affect our world and their tremendous significant to the environment and to our lives. This was mostly theoretical work that served as a background for the next stage. Also, they went for a school trip to see hives, guided by one of the beekeepers from the community. The students learned about some of the scientific aspects of honey production, but also about the economical and industrial sides, in Israel and abroad. The beekeepers presented them the process of developing a business in this field.
Implementation
The students were divided into 5 groups ("companies") - and each group begins to work on its own product, according to the students' interests:
- Research in the field of genetic engineering - the possibility of switching between the queen's sting and that of the regular bee.
- Finding ways to "connect" butter to honey (for muffled…).
- Research on the venom of bees and their cures. Examining the possibility of changing the composition of the venom to contain more healing substances.
- Study of the genetic composition of wild bees.
Each company set a goal for itself in the context of bees. The students were given knowledge about entrepreneurship and working on the formation of their group and "society". In addition, they are asked to research for themselves on the topic that interests them, and to define who are the stakeholders from the community that are relevant to the project of their "company", to contact them and work with them.
There was work in terms of skills: collaboration between students, different skills and division of roles within each group.
During the Passover holiday, the equipment was unloaded at the school. In May the students paint the hives and set them up, and begin researching them.
Twice a week they went to visit the hives to feed the bees. At the same time, the students prepared the food in feeding jars (picking eucalyptus). Treatment of ONGOING problems of bees and hives.
Students offered suggestions on how to solve various problems.
The students were on a tour with the beekeeper Amit Yosef in the Yesod HaMaala hive. The tour dealt with the industrial and economic aspect of honey, in Israel and around the world. Introduce to students not only the lifestyle of the bees, but the development of a honey business from an idea and the difficulties it encounters (e.g. theft of hives).
Students visited a food innovation conference at Tel Hai College, to see and learn about the process of making a new food product in its various stages.
The last sample from the hives was collected on 28.6.
Reflection
The school took part in a conference focused on the food-tech industry, in which the students presented their work and products - Each team of students (a "company") with its own stand. The attendees were invited to taste the products and were asked to provide feedback.
What worked well during the project?
The students had a very significant experience in working with the hives, which was a very important part of the project.
The leading teacher, who is the students' biotechnology teacher, managed to collaborate with another teacher at school which was not supposed to work with these students.
The students’ participation in the international online conference (organized by the SALL consortium members) was very good. The students prepared and presented their work well, and enjoyed it.
What didn't work well during the project?
The teacher could do a proper introduction with the students at the beginning of the year, mostly due to Covid19 restrictions. Most of the work at the first half of the year was conducted online (via Zoom), which made it very difficult to keep a high level of collaboration from the students' perspective.
The leading teacher hoped to contact other schools in the SALL project, from Israel or other countries, but such a connection wasn't established.
The researcher from the academy wanted to invite the students to the college to participate in one of her courses, but this wasn't possible due to Covid19 restrictions.
What was the value for the participants and what feedback did they give?
- The project had great value for the students in several aspects. Specifically, they experienced significant team work and had the chance for constant collaboration throughout the project. In addition, they were thoroughly acquainted with the bee world, including community members in this field.
- The local beekeepers received some knowledge that was developed throughout the students' work with the bees, and learned from some of the students' ideas.
- The academy researcher had the chance to work with high school students, after usually working only with students of higher education.
Futurel Plans
In 2021-2022, the project continues with students in the biotechnology program. They will collaborate with a local community of people with visual impairments and with a student from Tel Chai College. In addition, the school will collaborate with other schools in the city and the surrounding area.