SHORT BIO
Dr Kalliopi Stara is a researcher on issues concerning the relationship between people and Nature. She has completed her bachelor studies at the Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology (AUTH, specialization in Psychology, 1992), her postgraduate studies at the Department of Biology in the University of Wales – Bangor (specialization in Ecology, 2001) and her PhD thesis at the Department of Folklore in the School of History and Archaeology of the University of Ioannina (2009). Her doctoral thesis entitled “Study and recording of sacred forests and forests in the Vikos-Aoos National Park. Traditional forms of management, perceptions and values of local communities for the conservation of their natural environment” was awarded in 2012 by the Metsovion Interdisciplinary Research Center (MIRC) of the National Technical University of Athens in the field of “Protection and development of the mountain environment and local European Cultures”.
Her authorial work includes 25 published papers in international peer-reviewed journals, chapters in foreign and Greek edited volumes or conference proceedings and technical reports. She has also edited environmental education materials, a calendar with cooking recipes and the fairy tale “The tree of our small world”, which was awarded in 2012 with praise by the Panhellenic Writers’ Union. In 2022 her book “The trees of our place. A fascinating tour on the trees of Greek nature and our culture” (Arteon Editions, Athens 2021) was awarded by the Academy of Athens.
Since 2012 he has been collaborating with the Department of Biological Applications and Technology of the University of Ioannina where he has taught the course Cultural Ecology (2016-2023) and participates in the teaching of the course Field Ecology (2013-2024). In 2023 she also taught the courses Material Culture and Cultural Management at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Ioannina. She has also taught in the postgraduate program of the Ecology Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2015-2022), in summer schools and foreign universities as a visiting professor. She has also supervised students’ theses and dissertations related to the topics she teaches. Her educational work also includes designing and implementing environmental education programmes for primary and secondary school students on topics related to protected areas, endangered species, urban biodiversity and centuries-old trees. She has also participated as a lecturer and organised dozens of workshops and events for teachers or the general public.
Finally, she has participated with more than 50 papers in national or international conferences and numerous workshops and seminars as an invited speaker. She has participated in more than 10 scientific projects as a scientific collaborator in ethnography and environmental research and she has collaborated with environmental NGOs in research, education and information issues. She has worked mainly in Epirus, Western Macedonia and Thrace and the Aegean islands.