Children learn why bees matter in Marsa garden

Ask any primary school teacher and they will tell you the same thing: the most memorable lessons are those that children experience; not the ones they copy from a board or tick in a workbook, but the ones that make them laugh, or sit upright because something just clicked.

This was the motivation behind Bee Happy, a joint production by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and the Manoel Theatre that brought over 280 children aged four to six to Spencer Garden in Marsa across three days in early April.

The idea was straightforward: take a subject that matters deeply – the role of bees and pollinators in keeping our ecosystems alive – and present it in a way that a reception-class child can easily absorb; not via a pamphlet or a classroom visit, but a proper theatre piece, performed outdoors, in a real garden, where the connection between the story and setting is impossible to miss.

Pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of the vast majority of the world’s flowering plants, including much of the food we eat. Lose them and the knock-on effects ripple across entire food chains. Threats to pollinators caused by habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change are a real-world concern. While policy and science are essential to try to minimise these impacts, education is also essential, especially from a young age.

This is where the Manoel Theatre came in. Its TOI TOI programme has built a reputation for reaching young audiences in ways that strike a chord, and Bee Happy was no exception.

The production, headed by Faye Mallia and brought to life by puppets from Theatre Anon, was interactive, joyful, and deliberately crafted for its age group, pitched at children who are still discovering nature.

Staging it at Spencer Garden rather than indoors was also a smart decision. When you are sitting in a green space talking about why nature needs protecting, the message has a different weight.

What this collaboration gets right is something that often gets lost in environmental communication: the emotional element.

Facts about pollinators are important. But a four-year-old who is watching a loveable bee character navigate a world of flowers amid a number of threats receives something richer than facts. They are experience a feeling; and feelings, as any good teacher knows, are where long-lasting habits begin.

ERA and the Manoel Theatre have shown that an environmental authority and a national theatre have more potential to collaborate than one might expect.

One brings rigour and purpose; the other brings imagination and reach. Together, they gave 280 children an afternoon in a garden they will probably remember long after their worksheets have been discarded.

That is not something small. It is the kind of experience that helps environmental awareness develop at an early age and last a lifetime.

Suzanne Gauci is deputy director, CEO Office, Environment and Resources Authority, responsible for strategic affairs, public relations and communications.