BeeLife

Imagine a regular morning: You start your day with a cup of coffee, slip into your comfortable cotton shirt and make yourself some delicious muesli with lots of fresh fruit and nuts. You would have to do without all of this if it were not for those important helpers – our wild bees. More than 560 different species of wild bees are known in Germany but more than half of them are on the Red List or have already become extinct. Consequences are devastating: wild bees significantly contribute to the diversity of our ecosystem. However, the "wild sisters" of our well-known honey bees are often rather unknown creatures. Hence, raising awareness about the many challenges they face is of utmost importance. 

In this project, in transdisciplinary collaboration with experts from biodiversity, environmental didactics, school practice, and graphic and music design, we developed a mobile, cross-platform app for classroom use that incorporates virtual characters and game-based elements to demonstrate the great importance of wild bees to our ecosystem. Our goal is to increase sustainable awareness about the protection of wild bees. The current prototype includes eight levels, each employing a defined set of game mechanics. Each level introduces a selected topic: biodiversity, nesting places, feeding habits, enemies, or human actions for wild bee protection. Levels relate to real-world activities, which are embedded in project workshops and enable the user to transfer the virtual information into environmental actions.

The BeeLife project, funded by the German Environmental Foundation (DBU), has been completed. At the end of two and a half years of intense research and development, an intervention has been created that combines a gamified, interactive learning environment with practical environmental activities in project workshops. The underlying didactical concept was developed for use in schools, primarily from 4th to 6th grades.

The app is available via the Apple AppStore and the Google PlayStore. The accompanying booklet for teachers is linked in the app, but can also be accessed here.