Dr. Kalliopi Stara, Cultural Ecologist; ΚΑΛΛΙΟΠΗ ΣΤΑΡΑ; Centuries-Old Trees and the Conservation of Biodiversity

An impressive and important educational pack for Greek schools, produced by a team from the University of Ioannina:

The pack includes Dr. Stára's outstanding and consciousness-raising short story about the fate of one special tree:

Excerpt (with permission)

Also included is this splendid book about the majestic old trees of Zagori and Konitsa:

A photo (copyright Dr. Stára; reproduced with permission) of the huge tree in Iliohori: 

This pack of materials (which also includes workbooks) gives us all hope that the protection of the environment and of biodiversity is now firmly on the agenda in Greece, a country which has an ancient tradition of venerating and preserving sacred groves and forests and hallowed trees.


Further information, from a past posting:

Stara, K. (2012). Trees and the sacred in modern Greece. Langscape (Terralingua), Sacred Natural Sites: Sources of Biocultural Diversity, (2):11, 60-63.

From Protothema:

"An effort to survey the groves began in 2003 with financial support from the Greek Ministry of Environment and the EU. A new interdisciplinary project based at the University of Ioannina that aims to study the biocultural value of the groves is titled “Conservation through Religion: the Sacred Groves of Epirus” (SAGE, 2012-2015). A total of 38 social and natural scientists from Greece and abroad have been involved in this project that has received the local community’s positive interest".

The Sacred Forests of the villages of Zagori and Konitsa

"In the mountains of Northwest Greece Sacred Natural Sites constitute distinctive features of the cultural landscapes of the area. These are either groves or groups of ancient trees around chapels or sacred forests".


Pdf file - Τα μεγαλειώδη δέντρα του Ζαγορίου και της Κόνιτσας, Καλλιόπη Στάρα


Τα αιωνόβια δέντρα του Ζαγορίου: τόποι ιστορικής αναφοράς και σύµβολα ιερότητας


Religion and the Management of the Commons. The Sacred Forests of Epirus


See also: Stara, K. (2012). Trees and the sacred in modern Greece. Langscape (Terralingua), Sacred Natural Sites: Sources of Biocultural Diversity, (2):11, 60-63.