On Friday, 7 March 2025, we hosted the 2nd grade pupils of the Primary School Dragomir Benčič - Brkin Hrpelje. The topic of the workshop was insects and pollination. Insect pollination provides one of the most important ecosystem services, important both for agriculture, i.e. food production, and for biodiversity.
We introduced the students to the importance and threat of pollinators, which are disappearing from our environment for various reasons. In 30 years, the number of insects on Earth has declined by a quarter. They are most threatened by a lack of food, as many meadows are increasingly fertilised, mowed early and often, so they do not flower, and there is a lack of suitable places for them to nest and overwinter. To help them, the pupils made hotels for the insects.
But it is not only pollinators that are threatened, but also the charismatic birds of the Karst - the Great Eagle Eider, the White-headed Vulture and the Kestrel. We also introduced the children to these birds and the conservation measures that can be taken to ensure their continued existence.
