About BANOFFEE II
The BANOFFEE II (Birds And Nature Open for Full Fruition, Empowering Everyone) project aims to foster inclusion and accessibility, particularly for those with fewer opportunities, with a strong emphasis on the Deaf community. By implementing dedicated measures to make education, training, and volunteering opportunities more inclusive, BANOFFEE II seeks to create opportunities that are accessible to all, regardless of the hearing ability. Under the guidance of Deaf associations, BANOFFEE II will produce a series of learning outcomes in sign language, including a taxonomy video-dictionary featuring 20 bird species that lack representation in sign language, resulting in 40 learning videos in Lingua dei Segni Italiana (LIS) and Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija (LSM), the Italian and Maltese Sign Languages. Additionally, the project will develop 20 20 short educational videos in the format of mini documentaries – 10 in LIS and 10 in LSM – on the most iconic bird species. These videos will be created by Deaf people for Deaf people, ensuring the authentic use of native sign languages, which have distinct grammar and syntax from spoken languages. This approach guarantees that the materials are truly accessible and promotes inclusivity in learning, making nature education more
inclusive for Deaf individuals. To ensure broader accessibility, these videos will also feature subtitles in the respective spoken languages, facilitating learning for both Deaf and hearing audiences.
Discover BANOFFEE II’s Learning Resources
Through BANOFFEE II, DPAM and its project partners helped make learning about birds and nature more accessible to the Deaf community. Explore the resources developed through the project below.
Discover 20 bird species found in Malta and Italy. The guide includes their scientific, English, Maltese and Italian names, alongside images and information about their appearance, behaviour, habitats, feeding habits and migration.
Download the bird species guide.
The project documented signs for bird species in Maltese Sign Language (LSM) and Italian Sign Language (LIS), expanding the vocabulary available for learning and communicating about nature.
Explore birds and their natural environments through mini-documentaries combining sign language with information about species identification, characteristics and habitats.
A collection of short videos introduces individual bird species and their signs. These resources are suitable for Deaf people, sign-language learners, educators, interpreters and anyone interested in birds and nature.
BANOFFEE II: Celebrating Accessible Nature Education
In June 2026, Deaf People Association Malta held an event at the Paola Volunteer Centre to share the results of the Erasmus+ BANOFFEE II project, Birds and Nature Open for Full Fruition, Empowering Everyone II.
The programme featured a workshop on newly created signs, a presentation of the project’s results and the premiere of an educational film, supporting more accessible learning about birds and nature for the Deaf community.
BANOFFEE II’s Final Transnational Meeting
The Erasmus+ funded BANOFFEE II project brought partners together for three days of collaboration focused on environmental education, inclusion and Deaf empowerment.
Held jointly with MUFFIN’s third and final transnational meeting, the event provided an opportunity for BANOFFEE II partners to explore MUFFIN’s final results and exchange ideas on making nature and biodiversity education more accessible to the Deaf community.
For a glimpse of the meeting and its activities, watch the video shared by Sordapicena on social media.
