The massive folder "The Eleonora's falcon takes us on a voyage in the Aegean" is finished, prepared by the education team of the Hellenic Ornithological Society within the framework of the relevant programme LIFE. The distribution of the package has already begun in schools since the middle of the school year 2005-2006 and is expected to be continued the following year in educational establishments or other organisations that wish to become acquainted with the most significant bird species of Greece.
The particular educational material has the shape that has been established in recent years as "Environmental Education Package", since it contains various materials that can aid in the topic's presentation inside schools (either as a one-hour programme or an annual educational programme about the specific species and the Aegean). It has been prepared for children in the last classes of elementary and in secondary school, but also contains suggestions for older children.
More specifically, it contains:
- Pages on about 30 different activities and games. The one side of the page is for the educator, while the other can be photocopied for the students. To aid the educator, every activity is introduced through a very short summary. More analytically, the activities are divided into activities that cultivate dexterity and involve constructions, into activities and team games that involve the entire class and into individual activities that demand concentration.
- A small information booklet that is called "Eleonora's falcons, the last pirates of the Mediterranean or else the most significant falcons of Greece"
- 30 migratory bird cards
- Two posters (Birds of the Aegean / Habitats of the Aegean)
- One CD-Rom, containing a Power Point presentation, with main topic the Eleonora's falcon and optional ‘hyperlinks' about more technical topics concerning birds of prey, bird migrations and the relevant directives regarding their protection.
- One DVD about the Eleonora's falcon
Characteristic about the materials is what that the education team mentions in the introductory text:
The Eleonora's falcon takes us on a journey of its magical world, the Aegean, the Mediterranean, distant Madagascar, on issues of science, ecology, minor and major environmental problems of our days and the threats that forecast a potentially uncertain future for it. It aids us in the study of migration over the Mediterranean, it functions as an opportunity to become acquainted with the value of uninhabited islets and wildlife, it sets us thinking, it mobilizes us and it inspires us ....
The Eleonora's falcon has given us cause to propose to you a journey into nature, with the fare being knowledge about and love for birds ... What we expect is that the journey does not end once the material reaches the school portals, but that it remains alive through frequent use .... Because for us, the material that you hold in your hands is nothing but ideas we sow, and hope to see grow, blossom and bear fruit