Supporting an important cause: eLI visits bee camp
September 19th was a special day in the eLearning industry calendar. As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program and in anticipation of eLI Day 2025, we have all come together for a special purpose. This year’s eLI Day not only commemorates the eLearning industry’s auspicious 13th anniversary, but also another year of collective efforts to maintain productivity, camaraderie, and social responsibility.
For these reasons and more, we spent a morning with The Bee Camp, Greece’s first non-profit organization founded to protect and raise awareness of bees and other urban pollinators. Their vision is to help transform cities into greener, flowerier havens that welcome our hard-working friends. And given that eLI’s mascot is a bee, this purpose turned out to be very close to home for us.
Learn more about Bee Camp, a day with them, and how we can make our cities better places for valuable pollinators like bees.
Why are bees so important?
Besides being our logo, bees are important to us for many reasons. But before we get into it, let’s define what we mean when we say “bees.” Most people associate the word with the familiar black and yellow bees that produce honey. However, there are more than 20,000 species of honey bees worldwide, with around 1,150 species in Greece alone. Bees are one of the few bees to live in social hives, as almost 90% of bees build solitary nests and live solitary lives.
All bee species, whether living alone or in groups, are essential to the planet because they perform the valuable job of pollination. Pollination is the process of transferring pollen from the anthers (male part of the flower) of plants of the same species to the stigma (female part of the flower), allowing the plant to be fertilized and reproduce. One-third of the world’s food and three-quarters of the world’s flowering plants may come from this process, which bees and other animals perform instinctively.
Expanding urban environments, pesticide use, climate change, and the proliferation of monoculture crops are just some of the risks bees and other pollinators face on a daily basis. These challenges threaten the survival of many bee species, especially wild species that do not live in bee colonies. The extinction of honeybees could trigger a devastating chain reaction, causing food insecurity, ecosystem collapse, and significant economic impacts.
What does Beecamp do?
For these reasons and more, Ajerina Kanelopoulou founded The Bee Camp in 2018. The team is made up of six young women from diverse backgrounds, united by a desire to make a difference by making cities greener and more bee-friendly. They achieve this through workshops, educational activities, awareness campaigns for children and adults, and conservation and greening activities. One of their efforts is Bee Spot, a portable safe haven for bees and other pollinators that includes easy-to-grow, pollinator-friendly plants. These bee spots connect the city’s green spaces, creating “bee corridors” throughout Athens and providing water, food and shelter for these vulnerable animals.
our visit
On the sunny morning of September 19th, the eLI team was welcomed to Papagoo Park by Auntie and Lillian from Beecamp. We started the conversation by defining what constitutes a honey bee, and realized that there are more species than the common honey bee and many visual forms beyond the typical black and yellow. Once we started talking about the societies that bees form and how they manage to survive, it was easy to see how much we could learn from them. Bees are a great example of what teamwork and collaboration can accomplish, making the world a better place one flight at a time.
Most importantly, we learned that by making the environment a little greener, we can help them keep their jobs. We have created “seed bombs” with fast-growing seeds trapped in natural clay to plant in your garden, balcony, or simply place in a vacant lot in your neighbourhood. As these seeds grow, they add green space to cities and provide a source of pollen and nectar, turning harsh urban environments into friendlier places. To date, The Bee Camp has created and dispersed over 41,000 seed bombs.
Bee Camp: Developing a “seed bomb”
4 ways to promote bee-friendly cities
make it green
Just like we did when we visited The Bee Camp, you too can take steps to make the world a greener place. Plant flowers on your balcony, rooftop, garden, or in a vacant lot in your neighborhood. Choose plants that bloom from early spring through the summer to increase the food source for bees. If you have a lawn, reduce the frequency of mowing to allow grass and windflowers to grow and provide variety and nesting options.
build a bee house
Bees, especially those with solitary lives, often have a hard time finding shelter in cities. Leaving some cut logs, dead stems, and undisturbed ground in your garden are all great nesting options for bees. If this is not possible, you can install a small “bee house” on the balcony. This provides the bees with the rest, shelter, and drinking water they need as they move through the city.
avoid pesticides
If you are growing food or plants in your garden or balcony, be careful not to use synthetic pesticides or herbicides. Not only does it leave residue on the fruits and vegetables you eat, it also seriously harms bee populations. By using natural fertilizers and adopting companion planting, it is possible to create a sustainable and balanced plant ecosystem.
Educate yourself and spread the word
The survival of bees depends on our ability to gather knowledge and share it with the world. Find out what species live in the area where you live, how they live and which plants are more beneficial to them. This knowledge is easily accessible through scientific papers, workshops, webinars, and organizations like The Bee Camp. Then, spread the word within your community to encourage more people to plant flowers or create beehive space.
eLI team
conclusion
As another eLI Day comes to a close, we remain committed to our values of supporting our community and learning more about how we can make the world a better place. Our social responsibility work with The Bee Camp reminded us that even the smallest actions can have a big impact on our world. Bees, a seemingly small and insignificant entity on Earth, have incredible power, and their extinction would have dire consequences.
If you want to learn more about pollination and the importance of supporting bee populations, be sure to check out The Bee Camp’s website and support their cause by making a donation or spreading awareness.
