The CEIP Benito Méndez Tarajano of Lanzarote has built and launched a butterfly garden in its school facilities, through the project called "Fly high, fly without fear." The educational action, developed within the framework of the Axis of Environmental Education and Sustainability of the General Directorate of Planning, Innovation and Quality, also has the collaboration of the Island Council.
The activity began last September, when the teachers involved in this action proceeded to build the structure in the school garden facilities. Subsequently, with the help of students, the flowers and vegetation selected to be food and attraction for the butterfly species that visit the island were planted. In addition, a water fountain and a small weather station were installed to control the temperature and humidity of the space.
In November, the doors of the greenhouse were opened, which was immediately inhabited by several specimens that began their life cycle with the laying of eggs and the evolution of these to caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly.
Along with the direct experience of observing the process, students receive complementary information about these insects, their metamorphosis, their role in the Lanzarote ecosystem and the different species that are located in the island territory, through files adapted to different ages. The project will culminate with the release of adult butterflies.
According to the director of CEIP Benito Méndez Tarajano and promoter of the initiative, José Pablo Camacho, the possibility of opening the visit to students from other centers and even social groups from the Titerroy neighborhood, where the school is located, is being studied.
The Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands includes among its transversal axes the promotion of environmental values and the protection of natural resources, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Canary Islands Agenda 2030.
