EchoLoci

EchoLoci: Innovative applications for the recording and conservation of biodiversity, with the participation of citizens, on the livestock routes of Zagori

 
EchoLoci is an innovative project for the recording of biodiversity, through sound and image, on the livestock routes of Zagori. Through the active participation of citizens, a collaborative process of learning and management of the natural and cultural environment is achieved. The project indirectly aims both to preserve the wildlife and endangered species of the Zagori area and to protect its habitats. Raising the awareness of the local community with regard to transhumant pastoralists and their contribution to the conservation of biodiversity over time will ensure the preservation of the collective memory of the cultural identity of the region, in conditions of cohesion, equality and cooperation. Scientific community and citizens under the prism of travelling workshops trace, record and discuss the conservation and management of the local pasture ecosystem. Through the implementation of the activities, the key role of mobile pastoralists as a contributor to ecosystem balance is highlighted.

The central objective of the project is to record the biodiversity and sound diversity of the pastoral paths of Zagori, through the active contribution of the local community of Zagori, in a collaborative process of learning and management of the natural environment. With the contribution of the scientific partners and the local community, participatory research and artistic activities were organised to detect, record and preserve the ecosystems of the local pastures.

The immediate objective of the project is to raise awareness of the traditional practice of transhumance and to inform the local community about its contribution to the conservation of landscape biodiversity. In addition, the project indirectly aims both to preserve the avifauna and endangered species of the Zagori area and to protect the habitats, and to raise awareness of the community about the importance of biodiversity conservation, and to strengthen the collective memory and cultural identity of the local community in terms of cohesion, equality and cooperation. The material collected remains available at the Ecomuseum of Zagori for future actions, both artistic and educational, for the local community and visitors.
As part of the project, an interactive and accessible application was created to collect spatial data of the trails for remote accessibility and interpretation of local biodiversity and browsing the results of EchoLoci, with the help of an interactive navigation map and georeferenced sounds and images.

Funding source: Green National Fund: “Innovative actions with citizens”, within the framework of the Financial Programme: NATURAL ENVIRONMENT & INNOVATIVE ACTIONS, thematic area “Biodiversity”

Duration: 2021-2023

Partners: InnoPolis, Centre for Innovation and Culture, EcoΜuseum Zagori, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki- Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment – Department of Agriculture

Links: EchoLoci