12 - Hegaztieskola - Birds at school

Environmental Education is one of the Bird Center’s priority of work areas. Our most important educational tool is called Hegazti eskola, or “Bird School”. This project is based on the use of birds found around schools as a vehicle to increase children's motivation and intellectual development.

A classroom in each school is turned into a bird observatory, where students collect data and process it, which makes them little researchers.

Through optical equipment, students learn to distinguish the different species living around them and to understand their behaviour. They also complete field sheets, which are later shared with the Urdaibai Bird Center’s technicians.

Using that data, students write simple works that will help them develop a knowledge on several subjects, such as computing, photography, geography or plastic arts.

Urdaibai Bird Center coordinates the whole project, providing information on the different bird species and giving talks in schools.

Since 2006, two local state schools have been participating in the programme: Montorre from Gautegiz Arteaga and Urretxindorra from Muxika. In the same way through Urdaibai Bird Center, these schools have also joined a project led by the British organisation Osprey Migration Foundation. It is a project developed through internet that aims to raise awareness of environmental preservation, and to promote relationships between students from different cultures and languages. At this moment, our schools are sharing their experiences with other schools in Scotland, Italy, Finland, the US or Israel.