forest trails




Greece

 Natural art cteations from the members and learners of CARETAKERS-GREECE (here)

THE GREEK FOREST

Action Description of the1st Evening High School of Thessaloniki, 15-5-2012
The coordinated actor was Mrs Stogiannidou, Director of the school and member of the Caretakers of the Environment in Greece, who participated in the second mobility made under the program Grundvig “Forests for a;; /all for forests”in Tarsus.
To update the program included students from the school Director for the existence and current situation of Greek forests and the actions that we can develop as active citizens.
Students who participated in the program cover ages from 17 to 50 years old. Others are employed workers and others unemployed. 35 students participated.
The program decided to become an experiential introduction to the recreational facilities in the woods and their contribution to the mental health of participants in the woods. So, decided to visit a forest and a wetland adjacent to the forest. In this visit, some students brought their children so the age range of participants expanded greatly.
The site visit was chosen by the students who decided to combine a trip to the mountains and a wetland, the area-Agra Island and Mount Kaimaktsalan. The area has been of particular beauty and is included in the program NATURA 2000. The landscape presents unique beauty and offers alternatives. The students chose the area for another reason; two months before a fire had broken out, resulting in the disruption of wildlife. Therefore, they wanted to learn about the possible consequences of a catastrophic fire.
So visit and hike in the forest was combined with an informative guidance from the responsible researcher of the Information Center in the region, who talked about the richness of the wetland, and programs developed there with voluntary work for cleaning the lake and good maintena! nce of trails that are ideal for tourism and bird watching. She provided us with binoculars and telescope to observe a bird species that were still in the area. The area was an important Roman oldest castle acting as an observatory then for the Via Egnatia.
The action ended with the completion of a questionnaire assessment. The experience was evaluated by all the participants very positive and said they feel more informed about a place so far ignored. What they enjoyed most was the researcher's guidance and expressed the wish for more visits with informative and entertaining in nature.
In assessing 35 students responded.
 Haroula Stogiannidou



Exploring the Biodiversity of the urban forest of SEIH SOU
 SUNDAY 5TH MAY 2012

The forest of Seih Sou, which means “the water of the Seih”, was chosen for its importance for the climate of the city and its rich biodiversity.
The activity included two steps.
First step: At the premises of the hotel Philipion, near the forest
Professor George Krigas made a power point presentation of the Biodiversity of Thessaloniki.
Our city hosts a tremendous richness of plants, 1012 different species.
Besides, researches have shown that Thessaloniki is the first city in the world for the great density in different species of plants.
Some of them are indigenous but most of them are non native.
One of the most important native plants is SILENE THESSALONICA which is the emblem of the Department of Green of the Municipality of the city.
Second step: Field activity - A walk in the forest
Our guide, Mr Krigas helped us to discover the amazing world of nature.
As an expert in the field, he helped us identify several species of plants, learn about their use and how they contribute to the economy of nature.
The event was attended by a remarkable number of people who, on a Sunday morning, left the “coach potato” mentality behind and came to appreciate the wonders of Nature.
“New kids on the block” What was amazing was the big number of young children who showed interest, asked questions and participated with enthusiasm. And it was Mr. Krigas there, whose greatest asset is the way he approaches children, to answer explicitly all our questions.
 In a world where nature is superseded by the irrational sprawl of urban structures what we really demand is that nature should be reconciled with the city. And it is the young generation which should take the lead.
 The activity was organized by Mrs. Dina Tamoutseli, president of Caretakers Greece.
  The report was written by Anthoula Hatzitheodorou. 






21st MARCH
Bringing forest in the city/Celebrating the “Forest Day”

Students of the Environmental club of the 4th school of Stavroupolis/Thessaloniki with their teacher and Caretakers member Mrs Anthoula Hatzitheodorou participated in the celebration  of Forest Day with the following activity.They planted aromatic herbs in an urban open space close to the school in cooperation with Mrs. Triantafillopoulou from the Department of Green of our Municipality of Stavroupolis and the support of the Union of Parents. Mrs Triantafillopoulou, provided students with the herbs and helped them with planting.
The activity was organized within the frame of the plan “Open Public Spaces – They are demanded”. This activity is related to our project “Forest for  all for forest” as it is an attempt to introduce greenery in the city.
We keep on trying to transform abandoned open spaces into areas of Green for the benefit of the local community and we strongly believe that it will become a meeting place for the students as well as the neighbors.
Anthoula Hatzitheodorou



March 20, 2012
Visit to the  Center of Environmental  Education in Naousa , the forest area of Agios Nikolaos and the historical site of Aristotles school in Mieza.
Participants: 33 learners of the 1st  Second Chance School of Thessaloniki (adult learners school) and 2 teachers.

Naousa is a historic townwest of Thessaloniki at the foot of Mount Vermio. The city overlooks a beautiful valley with cultivations of many kind of fruit trees, like peach, pear, cherry, appricot trees and extensive vineyards.
We visited the Enviromental Education Center at the outskirts of the city. We attended a session on how sustainability is carried out in the local cultivations . The hosts held a special demonstration for us on how to maintain a compost container in our garden or on our balcony.
We were offered local products for lunch.
 Later there was a visit at a local wine distillery where the  owner talked to us  about the different phases of wine making , starting from the  cultivation of  vines to the bottling of  wine.
Early in the afternoon we went to the forest area of Aghios Nikolaos, part of which is a recreation area with water springs  and enjoyed the beauty of nature.
On the way back to Thessaloniki we stopped at Mieza, a beautiful landscape with lots of trees, to visit  the place where Aristotle taught his charismatic student, Alexander the Great.






Saint Nikolaos forest



Poland: cycling in the forest
In December 2011, we organized a bicycle tour to the Młochowski Forest. Our Guides: Piotr Skalski and Andrzej Nowakowski introduced us with bicycle, horse and historical trails in the forest. We visited two forest preserves: Bolesław Hryniewiecki’s and Witold Tyrakowski’s and we knew a lot about these two Polish botanists. The group also visited the former military unit (created in the 60’s on the need of Warsaw Pact), now abandoned and used for recreation by military fans.We spent a great time in the forest, enriching our knowledge and sharing our passion to the local heritage.
Poland: Excursion to the Otwock Forests, 22 th October 2011



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