On 21 March 2024, World Forestry Day, 2 members from the Kalamata Educational Center for the Environment (KEPEA) with 30 students along with their teachers from the 1st Vocational Upper Secondary School of Kalamata and the Vocational Upper Secondary of Messene and Sustainability visited Andromonastiron, a byzantine monastery of Messenia entoured by a unique natural landscape.
After a short tour of the monastery by Mr. Kleftogiannis (employee at the Ministry of Culture), the students walked along paths around the archaeological site and through worksheets, they identified 18 plants, they recorded them, they took 3D photos, they made sketches of the plants and last, they collected samples which they put in a press in order to create a herbarium. The students showed enthusiasm and they managed, in groups, to accomplish what they were asked to do, supported of their teachers!
All information and plants collected by the students will be digitized as part of the Erasmus+ Tell Youth project.
The students are specializing in Agriculture in their curriculum and this visit was a great opportunity to practice their knowledge and of course to blend with their peers from similar school.
The next phase of the project is to train teachers in creative writing of stories based on plants and to repeat the visit with other student groups in summer, autumn and next winter to capture each plant in all seasons.
We were joined by the volunteer and friend of KEPEA, Mrs. Maria Korbopoulou, who helped with the students’ brunch. Several local products of Messenia as cheese, oregano, tomatoes, aubergine and ofcourse extra virgin oil kept all of us energetic through out this visit!
We thank the accompanying teachers who teach in the Agriculture Department of the above mentionned schools: Maria Linardopoulou and Maria Tsirolia, from the 1st Vocational Upper Secondary School of Kalamata; Marina Kalogeraki and Tasos Maniati from the 1st Vocational Upper Secondary School of Messene.
We would like to thank also Mr. Kleftogiannis for both the tour and the hospitality of our students at the site.
Last but no least, we would like to thank Mr. George Marantos for the construction and the offer of the two plant presses.
