Stara Kalliopi

Short CV

Kalliopi Stara is a researcher in issues concerning the relationship between humans and nature. Since 2012 she has been working as a scientific associate at the Department of Biological Applications and Technologies (BET) of the University of Ioannina. She has completed her undergraduate studies in the Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology (A.P.Th., specialization in Psychology, 1992), her postgraduate studies in the Department of Biology (Bangor, Wales, U.K., specialization in Ecology, 2001) and her Ph.D. thesis in the Department of Folklore of the School of History and Archeology of the School of Philosophy of the University of Ioannina (2009). The topic of her doctoral thesis was entitled: "Study and recording of sacred forests and groves in the Vikos-Aoos National Park. Traditional forms of management, perceptions and values of local societies for the preservation of their natural environment". In 2012, he shared with two other candidates an award for the best doctoral thesis in the field “Protection and development of the mountain environment and local European Cultures” from the Metsovio Center for Scientific Research (ME .K.E.E.) of the National Technical University of Athens.

Her research interests focus on the study of Sacred Natural Sites and the scientific fields of Ethnobiology, environmental history and the study and management of cultural landscapes and Intangible Cultural Heritage. He is a member of the working group for the Cultural and Spiritual Values of IUCN Protected Areas (CSVPA), secretary of the Board. for the management & operation of the PALASE Research Station (University of Ioannina-Labriadei Research Station) in the Upper Plains of Zagori and member of many national and local scientific societies, NGOs and associations dealing with the preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Since 2013 he has also been dealing with Non-Timber Forest Products management in Europe by participating in the COST actionFP1203 ( European Non-Wood Forest Products Network) and in the research project INCREdible: Innovation Networks for cork, resins and edible products of Mediterranean forests coordinated by the European Forestry Institute (EFIMED). In addition, he belongs to the editorial team of the dossier for the inclusion of Zagori in the UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the Cultural Landscapes category.

Since 2016 he has been teaching the Cultural Ecology course at the BET department of the University of Ioannina to fourth-year students. She also teaches in the graduate program in the field of Ecology of the University of Athens, in summer schools and foreign universities as a visiting professor. Her authorship includes more than 20 published works in international journals with a review by anonymous reviewers, an equal number of chapters in foreign language and Greek collective volumes and additional publications in conference proceedings. He has also written and edited environmental education materials on topics related to protected areas (Northern Pindos National Park, 2013), endangered species (Black-headed eagle, Eurasian gull, Seagull, 2005, 2012), urban biodiversity (The avifauna of Thessaloniki, 2000) and the value of century-old trees for biodiversity conservation, 2015). He writes articles in the Greek and foreign press and has also published the fairy tale "The tree of our small world" which was awarded with praise by the Panhellenic Writers' Union in 2012.