Seven kindergartens, three schools, four festivals, one office of a large company, and a dozen more meetings at the office of the Community Center for Environment and Sustainable Development… Hundreds of children exclaiming, asking questions, their eyes shining with curiosity and joy… And when they pull her sting, their lips form the shape of the letter “Ooooh!”, their gaze freezes… And just a few seconds later, the silence is broken by a “battle cry” of “Look!”, pointing fingers and searching eyes, wanting to show the whole world her – the Bee Helen.
She was born a little over a year ago in a favorite place – the Shabla village of Ezerec. The idea for the huge three-dimensional model of a bee, as part of the educational module “Get to know the bees! Protect the future,” came from the mind and heart of our educational eco-expert and beekeeper Elena Sabatini. And it was brought to life by puppet set designer Krum Krumov.
It was first presented to our campers at the Ezerec Eco Center at the end of August 2024 and in the Bee Garden, a mini educational center for pollinators. From there, it began its journey through schools in Varna and Dobrich, together with the educational beehive – its home – and an antique suitcase full of beekeeping tools. At the end of each lesson, Elen Sabatini opens the suitcase, takes out the beekeeping suits and smoker, and turns the children into little beekeepers. They open Elen the Bee’s hive, and their curious heads peek under the lid and pull out the honeycombs one by one with curious questions.
2025 was the most difficult but also the most inspiring year for Bee Ellen. When Ellen Sabatini had to part with her for a few months to undergo treatment, our small team came up with the story of Ellen the Bee. With her, the Bee, the hive, and the suitcase in the yellow pickup truck, Ellen continued to travel to kindergartens and schools. She told the story of the life of bees, which always ended with the true story of Ellen Sabatini – who came from France, fell in love with Bulgarian nature and stayed in the small village of Ezerec near Shabla to raise bees. Because bees are not just love… Thanks to them, we have Life.
In just a few months, more than 2,000 children learned why bees are so valuable to humans. And how important it is to protect them. At the end of each lesson, they understood why our little bee is called Elena. But… some couldn’t wait until the end and started guessing right from the start: “Because she has horns,” “Because she is from the town of Elena”… Some of the children had prepared songs, poems, dances—all for her. And each lesson ended with applause for her. And with a group “Thank you, Elena!”
This continued until Elena Sabatini returned in the summer for the Varna Sea Festival, where the beloved bee was a guest. In the fall, her hive became even more interactive. Our friend Georgi Stoyanov made it so that when the lid was lifted, you could hear buzzing from inside, just like in a real apiary. That’s how we surprised the children at the Christmas market at the Little Puppet Festival. This was Ellen’s last meeting in the emotionally charged year 2025.
“Should I put a seatbelt on her?” asked the taxi driver, looking at the huge bee in the front seat. The witty driver of car 678 at Triumph Taxi was not indifferent to his unusual customer, whom he had to take to 14 Sava Radulov Street in Varna. All the way there, he asked questions about bees, the reasons for their decline, how they are kept by humans… Because Elena always manages to provoke curiosity. Because Elena always manages to provoke curiosity. And to win hearts. If you don’t know her yet, invite her to visit in 2026! It will be a meeting you will talk about a lot and remember for a long time. And maybe many…
