Costa Blanca

The importance of bees is a topic that children in Alicante are being taught

In the absence of bees, there would be no honey, no blossoms, and, as a result, no nougat at Christmas. Between Monday, March 10th, and April 15th, over 2,800 schoolchildren from 50 educational centres, organised into 86 groups of preschool, primary, and secondary school, will engage in an awareness campaign regarding the significance and protection of pollinating insects. This initiative is motivated by the significance of these small animals. Urban Environment Observatory of the Department of Environmental Sustainability, led by Manuel Villar, is responsible for the organisation of this initiative.

This activity will provide children with an understanding of the significance of these species, particularly bees, in maintaining the equilibrium of the environment. They guarantee the production of fruits, vegetables, and seeds by facilitating the growth of numerous plants and crops through pollination. Biodiversity and food security would be significantly compromised in their absence. Consequently, the city council is of the opinion that it is “fundamental to convey this message to schools, thereby raising awareness of their significance and the necessary measures to safeguard them.”

The El Rincón de la Abeja Association’s team of educators implemented the campaign, which was organised by the Municipal Department of Environmental Education of the Environmental Service. In order to ascertain which activities are most appropriate for each grade level, this organisation reached out to each school. The activity can be arranged in either one hour or one and a half hours, with the option of combining multiple activities or restricting it to the one that was initially selected by the target group, depending on our requirements.

Activities customised for preschool, primary, and secondary education

One of the Early Childhood Education activities is the narrative activity “Bees and Flowers,” which is a delightful activity that features music and scenery and depicts the life of a bee as it searches for a honey flower. Crafts, relaxation activities, and other activities, such as “The Bee Dance,” which entails the performance of the unique dance that bees perform to communicate information to the rest of the hive, are also available at this level.

In addition to educational content with audiovisual support, the “observation hive” is utilised for primary and secondary school groups. This experience provides a unique opportunity to interact with bees, including the ability to feel the vibrations, observe the bees’ movements, and observe their communication. Additionally, there is the “insect hotel,” which is constructed using recycled materials and features observation of its inhabitants.

The campaign was initiated as a result of the “Pollinators in the City of Alicante” workshop, which concluded with its fourth and final session in December at the Urban Environment Observatory, as well as its educational and environmental value. The objective of this event is to establish a connection between society and urban biodiversity.

This initiative was the outcome of a partnership between the University of Alicante, the Alicante City Council, and the El Rincón de la Abeja Association, and it was in accordance with the European 2030 objectives for sustainability and conservation. The symposium was instrumental in the future preservation of these urban species by providing information on pollinator mapping in various regions of Alicante. The opportunity to participate in a collaborative initiative that emphasises the significance of environmental preservation allowed participants to broaden their understanding of the identification and protection of urban pollinators.

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Related Topics:Alicante Children Council Environment University

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Costa Blanca

Elche’s H&M shop closing

The Swedish retail chain H&M announced in 2024 that it would be reducing the number of stores and employment it has in Spain due to “organisational, productive, and economic” reasons. Around 50 layoffs were the result of the closure of stores in the L’Aljub retail centres in Elche, Ociopía in Orihuela, and Habaneras in Torrevieja, which had consequences for the province of Alicante.

Additionally, these were the sole instances in the Valencian Community that were impacted. The Torrevieja store was the first to shut its doors in May 2024 since that time. The Orihuela store was subsequently closed on September 14th of the same year. Currently, the Elche store has shuttered its doors. The facility was closed to the public on March 14th, following its final day of operation on March 11th. It will be entirely shut down on March 22nd. Approximately 20 employees are being laid off at this Elche store. It is the final establishment in the province of Alicante that will not reopen, and the circumstances of the dismissal were negotiated in October. The employees have departed the company with an agreement as a result of these negotiations, according to Yolanda de la Casa, the general secretary of the CCOO Services Federation in Alicante.

The dismissal terms that were established following the October negotiations were 45 days until 2012 and 33 days until the present. A gratuity of 3,500 euros was granted for the first five years, 4,000 euros for the next ten years, and a maximum of 4,500 euros for the subsequent years.

Furthermore, three relocations have occurred among the 50 individuals who were laid off in the province, spanning Elche, Orihuela, and Torrevieja. Lely Fernández of UGT l’Alacantí-La Marina informed this newspaper that these were part-time employees from the Habaneras shopping centre in Torrevieja who were transferred to the La Zenia shopping centre, which continues to operate and is accessible.

H&M initiated 2024 by announcing the closure of 28 stores and approximately 588 collective redundancies. The figure was reduced to 521 reductions in a subsequent revision.

The Torrevieja store closed its doors to the public on May 17th, 2024, and the lease expired on May 24th, never to be reopened. Nevertheless, numerous employees at this establishment were granted the opportunity to relocate to other nearby stores that were still operational. In September 2024, Ociopía followed suit, and Elche followed suit in March 2025.

The H&M group operates over 100 stores and employs nearly 4,000 individuals in the country. This decision was made by the Scandinavian company in order to “adapt and perfect” its stores in a “changing” shopping environment for its consumers. Additionally, Spain would be responsible for 17% of the brand’s global closures, as indicated by the data that the company disclosed months ago when it presented its 2023 financial year.

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Man stole fire extinguishers to sell as scrap metal

A 20-year-old male is currently under investigation by the Guardia Civil for the purported theft of ten fire extinguishers. The fire extinguishers were discovered by Seprona officers during an inspection of a scrap metal establishment in Torrevieja. The store manager and the criminal are both the subject of an investigation.

The fire extinguishers, which were in near-new condition and completely charged, were discovered by the Servicio de Protección a la Naturaleza (Seprona) officers during the inspection. The investigation was initiated due to the fact that this material is “uncommon” in this form of business, as explained by sources from the Armed Forces.

Upon discovering the fire extinguishers, the officers enquired about the scrapyard manager’s documentation regarding the extinguishers’ arrival. The manager responded that he did not possess any proof of ownership. Additionally, he disclosed that a woman and her son had abandoned them there without his permission.

The company responsible for maintaining the fire extinguishers was identified by Seprona officers after they analysed the evidence and proof acquired. This verified that the extinguishers were located in a building in Torrevieja. The missing equipment was reported by the property manager of this community of proprietors shortly thereafter.

Fire extinguishers were recovered

Officers were permitted to confiscate the fire extinguishers and transport them to the Torrevieja Civil Guard barracks as a result of the formal complaint. Upon verification of their origin, they were returned to their legitimate owners.

The individuals implicated have been identified as a result of the operation. The 20-year-old man who is supposed to have stolen the fire extinguishers is being investigated for theft, while the 23-year-old proprietor of the scrap yard is being investigated for receiving stolen goods.

The Guardia Civil emphasises the necessity of reporting these types of incidents and reminds all individuals of the significance of doing so. In order to prevent the acquisition of stolen material, scrap metal dealers must establish rigorous controls, such as document checks on sellers and items received.

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Man sought for robbery and fraud in Amsterdam has been caught in Alicante

In Alicante, officers from the National Police have apprehended a 22-year-old Spanish national. The Netherlands sought him as the purported perpetrator of fraud and theft of mobile phones. According to a statement from the National Police Headquarters, he made transactions totalling over €50,000 after unlocking the phones.

The National Police in Alicante was informed of the issuance of a European Arrest Warrant for Extradition by the Netherlands. The pursuit of the fugitive was initiated by investigators, and he was ultimately apprehended following the establishment of a police operation.

Arrested in the street

The detainee, who was apprehended while walking in Alicante, is accused of violently snatching mobiles from his victims in Amsterdam between late 2024 and early 2025, thereby committing at least three robberies.

The arrested man and his associates, it appears, confronted the victims under any pretext, engaging them in conversation to establish a climate of trust and disinterest. They violently seized the mobile phones they were holding and fled the scene at this juncture.

They subsequently exploited the unlocked phone to place numerous orders at department stores, which they would subsequently retrieve in person. The financial loss of €50,000 that these offences caused to their victims was in addition to the overall financial harm they inflicted.

The maximum sentence is twelve years

The suspect may be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison in the Netherlands for these offences. This individual was apprehended as a result of the effective coordination and exchange of information between the National Police and law enforcement authorities in other countries.

The detainee, who had a criminal record in Spain, has been transferred to the Central Investigative Court of the National Court, the judicial body responsible for processing his extradition.