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Newsletter of the Lesvos Petrified Forest European and Global Geopark published by the:

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF THE LESVOS PETRIFIED FOREST

Special Issue

Spring 2012

LesvosLesvosGeoparkGeopark


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ditor in cheef

ickolas ouros

Executive editor

Katerina Vasileiadou

Contributors:

Contributors:

. Bentana

I. Valiakos

. Vasileiadou

D. Batsios

V. Plousaki

. Georgiou

. Gkogkos

P. Ampoulos

Photos:

Photo Gallery

Natural History Museum

of the Lesvos Petrified Forest

Design:

. Georgiou

EQUO

EQUO

PUBLISHED BY

THE NATURAL HISTORY

MUSEUM

of the LESVOS PETRIFIEDFOREST

ISSN 1109-3676

European Destination

of Excellence 2009

Lesvos - Petrified forest

The Natural History Museum of the Lesvos

Petrified Forest has been established inSigri, in 1994, and acts under the super-

vision of the Greek Ministry of Culture and

Tourism. Its main objectives are the study,conservation, promotion and exhibition of

the unique Lesvos Petrified Forest, a designated Protected

Natural Monument of special environmental, geological, palaeonto-logical and educational value, included in the West Peninsula-

Petrified Forest NATURA 2000 Site.

Museum Opening Hours

E-mail address: [email protected]

Websites: www.lesvosmuseum.gr

www.petrifiedforest.gr

Postal Address:

Sigri, GR-81103, Lesvos, Greece

el. - Fax:+30 22530 54434

Summer period

1 July - 30 September:

Daily: 09:00 - 20:00

Winter period

1 October - 30 June:

Tuesday - Sunday: 09:00 - 17:00

Mytilene Information Centre

17, 8th November & Papayiannis Street,

GR 811 00 Mytilene, Lesvos, Greeceel. - Fax: +30 22510 47033

Opening Hours: Monday-Friday 08:00 - 16:00

Cover Photo Columnar lavas in Lepetymnos, one of the

most important volcanic geotopes of the Lesvos Geopark


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The 36th Session of the General Conference of

UNESCO held in Paris from 25 October until 10November, with the participation of delegationsfrom 193 Member States, international organiza-tions and NGOs, was to decide the strategies andaction program on the four main interest areas ofthe organization, i.e. education, science, cultureand communication, and on the major initiatives tobe undertaken by the organisation during the fol-lowing two years. Alongside the GeneralConference, the major exhibition Open UNESCOwas launched, where the Lesvos Petrified Forestwas presented.

The declaration on Geoparks

Within the Conference, the action plan in the field ofScience was discussed, during which the draft dec-laration on Geoparks proposed by the ExecutiveCommittee was approved.The Greek delegation was attended by theCoordinator of the European Geoparks Network,Assoc. Prof. N. Zouros, who was one of the mainspeakers at the special meeting for the determina-tion of UNESCO policies in the field of Geoparks.The representatives of Greece, together with repre-

sentatives of Ireland, Chile, Poland, USA, Italy,Kenya, Uruguay, Vietnam, Argentina, Malaysia,France, South Korea, Slovenia, Mexico, Germany,Botswana, Honduras and China, strongly supportedthe draft resolution that invites UNESCO tostrengthen its support of the Global GeoparksNetwork and to upgrade the operation and develop-

ment of Geoparks. During the special session on

Geoparks, it was suggested that there appears aneed for evolution of the Geoparks initiative to alarger program, similar to the program for WorldHeritage, a position strongly supported by Vietnam,Argentina and China. Some countries (Switzerland,Canada, the Netherlands) objected the operation ofan independent program under the restrictive con-ditions imposed by the global crisis and suggestedthe inclusion of the Geopark project within theWorld Network of Biosphere Reserves. Finally, afterintense negotiations and exchange of views, theresolution on Geoparks was unanimously adopted.

Open UNESCO exhibition

Along the General Conference, the exhibition OpenUNESCO, at the organisations headquarters, wasinaugurated by Irina Bokova, Director-General ofUNESCO. The exhibition presents a wide range ofprojects and activities of UNESCO, utilizing a combi-nation of structures, documentaries, photographs,publications, interactive applications and socialnetworks. Among the major projects presented onecould find World Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reservesand Geoparks. Visitors to the exhibition had the

opportunity to use the upgraded interactive worldmaps to locate geo-monuments and to seek infor-mation about the Lesvos Petrified Forest and theother 86 UNESCO Geoparks. The exhibition, which ispermanent, opened for the wider public in January2012 and will promote the Geoparks to all visitors tothe UNESCO headquarters.

UNESCOs

36

th

General Conference


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Atestament to the global cultural and naturalvalue of Lesvos and evidence that the island is aplace worth visiting is represented in the attempt

that has begun for the island's candidacy for member-ship in the Global Geoparks Network. A programmaticagreement has been jointly signed by the Municipalityof Lesvos, the University of the Aegean and theNatural History Museum of the Lesvos PetrifiedForest, and the inventory of all data-arguments spreadon the island has already started being created. Fromthe first steps of the inventory creation and the listingof only some of the available riches, it turns out thatthe natural and cultural wealth of the island is endlessand able to give the passport to joining the UNESCONetwork.

As part of the revalidation of the Lesvos PetrifiedForest Geopark, auditors of UNESCO visited Lesvos inJune 2011, who met with the Mayor of Lesvos, D.

Vounatsos. Since then, and under their contacts withlocal authorities, and particularly with the Director ofthe Museum of the Petrified Forest, N. Zouros, and rep-

resentatives of the University of the Aegean, the ideahas been fostered that it is possible to claim the inte-gration of the whole island of Lesvos in the Network.Adopting this perspective and after discussion in theCity Council, the Municipality of Lesvos decided inOctober 2011 their joint effort, together with theUniversity of the Aegean and the Natural HistoryMuseum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest, to claim themembership, acting speedily, as the proposal had tobe submitted by the 30th November 2011. The pro-grammatic agreement was signed by the Mayor ofLesvos, D. Vounatsos, the Deputy Dean of the

University of the Aegean, N. Soulakelis, and theDirector of the Natural History Museum of the LesvosPetrified Forest, N. Zouros.

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The Lesvos island Geopark:

the proposal for membership

For the first time all natural and cultural features of the island are recorded and pre-

sented integrated within the initiative to claim membership of the whole island in the

European and Global Geoparks Networks of UNESCO


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As soon as the programmatic agreement was joint-

ly signed, the compilation of the proposal began, atask mainly assigned to N. Zouros, the DeputyMayor Yiannis Tsakiris and the representative ofthe University of the Aegean Yiannis Spilanis. Theprocedure requests that UNESCO auditors will visitthe island in June 2012 and judge on site the valid-ity of all elements included in the proposal, in orderto decide on the final declaration of the wholeisland of Lesvos as a geopark. As stressed at theCity Council meeting, a geopark is a designatedarea which shows a prominent and special geolog-ical heritage, a considerable number of geotopes of

particular quality, rarity, scientific and educationalvalue and aesthetic attraction. The majority of thesites presented in a Geopark must be geologicalmonuments, but also sites of archaeological, eco-logical, historical or cultural interest are valuable.

Both Mr. D. Vounatsos and Assoc. Prof. N. Zourosbelieve that the compilation of the proposal and apossible resulting declaration of Lesvos as a mem-

ber of the Global Geoparks Network is a first classopportunity to highlight the overall natural andcultural wealth of the island, an opportunity thatcan lead not only to touristic growth but also to theholistic sustainable development of the island,under proper operations.During the signing of the agreement, the Mayor,praising the efforts of the Director of the Natural

History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Foresttowards the support of the proposal, announced alist of 92 geotopes that can be visited on Lesvos, asmall sample of the endless natural heritage of theisland, whereas Mr. Zouros referred to the uniquelesbian grove, the cultural monuments and muse-

ums that host treasures hidden in the land ofLesvos, and also to traditional settlements, thearchitecture of the island, and everything thatdemonstrates the rich culture, which, togetherwith the islands nature, constitute unique advan-tages of the island. According to Mr. Zouros, thiseffort requires the cooperation of all local authori-ties and stakeholders, the only condition for thesuccess of the project.

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The programmatic agreement for the creation of the Lesvos

Geopark was signed among the Municipality of Lesvos, the

University of the Aegean and the Natural History Museum of

the Lesvos Petrified Forest. From left to right, the Director of

the Museum N. Zouros, the Deputy Dean of the University of

the Aegean N. Soulakelis, the Mayor of Lesvos D. Vounatsos

and the Deputy Mayor Y. Tsakiris.

The preparation of the proposal

Geopark end-to-end...


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Around 19 million years ago, in the area of Lesvos,there was a large dense subtropical forest. The for-est was very rich: huge sequoias and pines at highaltitudes, poplar, oak, laurel, cinnamon, cypress,

palm trees at the lowest altitudes. This forest wasthe perfect habitat for numerous animals! Largedeinotheres were living among the thick trees, andwere cutting with their short trunks tender leavesfrom the trees to eat. Moles were digging burrowsin the ground, where they could hide to escapepredators. Various species of small and large ham-sters were wandering around the ground a fewhours before sunset to find fruits and seeds. Tinyshrews were running on the ground, searchingendlessly for insects and worms under the foliage.Small dormice were hanging upside down from tree

branches. And at night the sky was filled with vari-ous species of bats, which, during the morning,were hiding in caves around the lake or perched

hanging upside down from tree branches.In a glade of this forest, a large lake had formed. Atthe bottom, tiny snails were feeding on algae andaquatic plants. In the quiet waters, fish were swim-

ming and scary alligators were constantly ready todevour animals that reached the lake to drinkwater. When the snails, fish and alligators died,their bodies were sinking in the lake bottom. There,bones of animals that lived around the lake werealso accumulated, usually drifted by smallstreams. In that burial location, the remains werecovered by sediments and later by large amountsof volcanic ash ejected from the nearby volcano.Over the years, through complex chemical process-es, all these animal remains became fossils!These conclusions have emerged from the most

recent research activities of the Natural HistoryMuseum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest in the areaof Western Lesvos. The significant new discoveries

Research:

New animal fossils

in the Lesvos Petrified Forest


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to the finding of fossil gastropods and isolatedremains of fresh water fish, small reptiles, smalllizards and micro-mammals. The fossils were com-pared with similar fossils from Eurasia in order to

identify the species to which they belong. A largepart of the research was carried out at the GeologyDepartment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki(Greece) and the Earth Sciences Department,University of Utrecht (Netherlands).The new discovery is of great importance, since itreveals some of the oldest vertebrate fossils foundso far in Greece and can provide information con-cerning the migration of mammals between Asiaand Europe, as well as contributing to more accu-rate reconstructions of the subtropical forestecosystems of the eastern Mediterranean area 19

million years ago. The results of the study of themicromammals found so far have already beenpublished in a scientific journal (Vasileiadou, K. &Zouros, N., 2012. Early Miocene micromammalsfrom the Lesvos Petrified Forest (Greece): prelimi-nary results. Palaeobiodiversity andPalaeoenvironments, vol. 92, no. 2, p. 249-264)and have been received with interest by the scien-tific community. Research will continue with fur-ther sampling and analyzes, aimed to the enrich-ment of knowledge on the communities andecosystems in the eastern Mediterranean areaaround 19 million years ago.

mole tooth

lacustrine gastropod mollusc hamster-like rodent tooth

fish pectoral fin bone

fresh-water fish otoliths

alligator tooth

dormouse tooth


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The 10th European Geoparks Conference was heldin Langesund, Norway, from the 16th until the19th of September 2011, by the Geopark GeaNorvegika. The conference was attended by 280scientists and geoparks representatives comingfrom more than 30 countries.During the conference, issues were discussedrelated to the development of Geoparks, the

enhancement, protection and management ofgeological monuments and geoparks contributionto local economic development. Also, the newmembers of the European Geoparks Network andthe new members of the World Geoparks Networkof UNESCO were announced, after the decision ofthe 11-member UNESCO Geoparks Bureau.Including these new members, he Global GeoparksNetwork of UNESCO now has 87 members in 27countries and the European Geoparks Network 49members in 16 European countries!As part of the Conference, the results of the 10-year Action of the Natural History Museum of theLesvos Petrified Forest for the management of thePetrified Forest and its promotion at a global levelwere presented. The Assoc. Prof. of the University

of the Aegean, N. Zouros, Director of the Museum,presented the positive results of the managementof the Petrified Forest and reported the results ofthe achievements of the Museum in the fields ofprotection and promotion of natural heritage andthe development of geotourism. Also the Directorpresented the Museum's initiatives on raising pub-lic awareness related with natural phenomenasuch as earthquakes.

10

th

European Geoparks

Conference

28th Assembly of the EGN

Coordination Committee

Music event in the Gea Norvegika Geopark

The Advisory Committee of theEuropean Geoparks Network

Representatives of the new members of the

EGN and GGN receiving their membership

certificates


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The Natural History Museum of the LesvosPetrified Forest was the only Greek Museum tak-ing part in the final phase of the competition forthe 2012 Micheletti Award, which was this yearheld on the 27th and 28th April at the State Textileand Industry Museum, in Augsburg, Germany. TheMuseum was one of the 18 museums from 12

European countries shortlisted for the prize,among 24 applications. Despite the fact that it wasnot awarded, its nomination shows that it canstand equal next to many major European muse-ums.On the 28th April, during the final phase of thecompetition, the Director of the Museum, Assoc.Prof. N. Zouros, presented to the EuropeanMuseum Academy (EMA) plenary the Museum andits activities. During the presentation, whichreceived very positive feedback, he referred to thefive areas assessed in the context of the competi-

tion:1. the Museum: premises, exhibits and collections,website, broadcast media, organization, person-

nel;2. elements of originality and modernity in theexhibits presentation;3. the effect of the Museum in local, national andinternational level;4. the contribution of the Museum to the promo-tion of scientific research and

5. the role of the Museum as a place of culture,education, communication and exchange of ideas.During the presentation of the final results, theChairman of the EMA, Dr Wim van der Weiden, for-mer General Director of Naturalis Museum inLeiden, the Netherlands, pointed out the geograph-ic distribution and variety of museums that com-peted and announced that the competition wasreally difficult due to the very high quality of allcontestants. He then awarded the prize to theRiverside Museum in Glasgow, Scotlands Museumof Transport and Travel. The trophy was presented

to the museums director, Lawrence Fitzgerald, byHRH Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg.

Museum evaluation

Prior to the final phase, in November 2011, Dr. Arnovan Berge Henegouwen, Director of the NaturalHistory Museum Museon in The Hague, theNetherlands, and member of the EMA, had visitedLesvos, in order to assess the application files ofthe Museum. During his visit, Dr. van BergeHenegouwen visited the Museum accompanied bythe Director, Assoc. Prof. N. Zouros and the Head of

the Research Department, I. Valiakos, who updatedhim on the Museum activities. During the evalua-tion of the application, prepared by the MuseumsHead of the Exhibitions and EducationDepartment, K. Mpentana, special emphasis wasgiven on the presentation and interpretation of theMuseums exhibits, as well as the Museum's activerole in local sustainable development.Furthermore, the high level of service offered bythe Museum to its visitors and its promotion ofalternative forms of tourism were highly com-mended by the EMA referee.

After the end of the evaluation procedure, Dr. vanBerge Henegouwen indicated that he was pleas-antly surprised by the quality of service and vari-ety of activities in a museum at the boarders of theEuropean Union, as well as by the integration ofthe natural environment in the museum architec-ture. He commented positively on the modern way

European Museum Academy

2 12 Micheletti Award


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We part ic ipated in

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of the collection display and the use of moderntechnologies towards optimisation of informationand guest satisfaction.

European Museum cademy

The European Museum Academy aims to encour-age the dissemination of the principles that shouldgovern a modern museum and to promote innova-tive actions by the new generation of museums. Itis engaged in developing research in museumsand encourages the application of new methodolo-gies in the presentation of museum collections. Atthe same time, it acts as an advisory body provid-ing services to improve the quality of services pro-vided by museums. Members of the EuropeanMuseum Academy are leading experts from

Europe on museology, with vast experience in thepromotion and operation of museums.Originally, the Micheletti Award was established bythe Luigi Micheletti Foundation and KennethHudson in 1996, for the recognition of excellencein the specific sector of European science andindustry museums. Since its creation in 2009, theEuropean Museum Academy jointly coordinatesthe Awards Ceremony together with the MichelettiFoundation, in order to give a prize to the mostsuccessful and innovative museum in Europe, aswell as to museum staff and scientists working inthe fields of industrial and social history, technolo-gy and science. The panel of judges for theMicheletti Award consists of leading scientists inthe field of museology, museum directors and arthistorians: Mr Thomas Brune, Head, Department ofEthnology, Landesmuseum Wrttemberg,Stuttgart Mr Ren Capovin, Luigi Micheletti Foundation,Brescia; musil Museum of Industry and Labour,

Brescia Dr Christopher Grayson, Expert in European cul-tural cooperation Dr Arno van Berge Henegouwen, Head, Natural

History Department, Museon, The Hague Dr Massimo Negri, EMA Director, ScientificDirector of the Master Course of EuropeanMuseology, IULM University, Milan; ScientificDirector of Genus Bononiae-Museums in the City,Bologna Mr Franois-Xavier Nve de Mvergnies, Servicede Linguistique exprimentale, Universit deLige Miss Ann Nicholls, EMA Co-ordinator Dr Virgil Nitulescu, Director, Museum of theRomanian Peasant, Bucharest

Dr Andreja Rihter, EMA President and Head of theSchool of Museology, Celje Dr Hermann Schfer, Former General Director forCulture and Media, Chancellors Office, Berlin;Founding President of the House of History, Bonn HRH Princess Sibilla de Luxembourg, ArtHistorian Dr Jana Souckov, Emeritus Vice-DirectorGeneral, National Museum, Prague Mrs Danile Wagener, Director, Les 2 Muses dela Ville de Luxembourg Dr Jorge Wagensberg, Scientific Director of thela Caixa Foundation, Barcelona Dr Wim van der Weiden, EMA Chairman; formerGeneral Director of Naturalis, LeidenThe participation of the Natural History Museum ofthe Lesvos Petrified Forest in the final phase of thecompetition for the Micheletti Award, among largeNational Museums with long tradition and highbudgets, is an undeniable recognition of its qualityin a European level.


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The Lesvos Pet r i f ied Forest Geopark

he Lesvos Pet r i f ied Forest Geopark

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The Natural History Museum of the LesvosPetrified Forest successfully participated in thethree-day event The island of Lesvos in Istanbul,dedicated to the Aegean island of Lesvos, its cul-ture, products and natural beauties, celebrated inthe Sismanoglio Hall, from the 13th to the 15thMay 2011. The event was organized by the

Consulate General of Greece in Istanbul, in collabo-ration with the Municipality of Lesvos. In theframes of the event, the Museum was invited toprepare and present the exhibition "The LesvosPetrified Forest", aiming to acquaint the publicwith this unique natural monument.The exhibition included a collection of unique fos-sils, parts of petrified trunks and leaf prints, whichdemonstrate the richness of the Petrified Forestand certify its uniqueness as a Natural Monument.The findings presented to the public of Istanbulbelonged to ancestral forms of pine and oak trees,

as well as tropical plants. They were selected fortheir excellent preservation, and were accompa-nied by explanatory texts in three languages(Turkish, English and Greek), multimedia andaudiovisual presentations on the Lesvos PetrifiedForest Natural History Museum and the PetrifiedForest Park. The Museum offered guided tours inTurkish to the visitors, and distributed brochuresin Turkish and English about the Petrified Forestand the Museum.Aiming to the promotion of Lesvos and its PetrifiedForest, the Director of the Museum, Assoc. Prof. N.Zouros, presented Lesvos as an attractive touristicdestination with nature and culture as its key pil-lars. He also had a series of contacts with Consular

authorities and academic personalities, and dis-cussed the possibilities of closer cooperation. Hemet, among others, the internationally well-knownhistorian and president of the Topkap Museum,Prof. Ilber Ortayli, who accepted with pleasure theinvitation to visit Lesvos and its Petrified Forest.The Lesvos Petrified Forest exhibition in Istanbul isan important first step and an outstanding oppor-tunity for promotion of the monument and Lesvosto the neighbouring country, whereas furthersteps to strengthen contacts are already planned.

Promotion of the Lesvos

Petrified Forest in Istanbul

The Director of the Natural History Museum of theLesvos Petrified Forest, Assoc. Prof. N. Zouros, and the

President of the Topkap Museum, Prof. Ilber Ortayli


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The Lesvos Pet r i f ied Forest Geopark

he Lesvos Pet r i f ied Forest Geopark

A large number of adults and children from Lesvosand the neighbouring Turkey, as well as visitors tothe island, had the opportunity to meet the LesvosPetrified Forest in the frames of the 1st Greek-Turkish Trade and Culture Festival "Archipelagos",held at the Mytilene new marina, on the island of

Lesvos. The Festival was supported by the NorthernAegean Region and the Greek and Turkish Chambersof Commerce, and lasted from the 17th till the 20th ofJune 2011 with great success. During the festival,commercial and tourist enterprises as well as prod-ucts from the Northern Aegean islands and theTurkish coasts (Asia Minor) were presented, whereasthe main events were complemented by a wide vari-ety of cultural festivities.The exhibition prepared by the Natural HistoryMuseum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest for the festi-val, "Petrified Forest of Lesvos - Protected Natural

Monument", aimed to introduce the Petrified Forestto the participants of the festival and, most impor-tantly, to the visitors from Turkey. Unique plant fos-sils from the west Lesvos, showing excellent preser-vation of the original wood structure, and also leaf

prints, were presented. In addition, a large number ofphotographs from the Petrified Forest Park, the areaof Sigri and the islet Nisiopi showed to the audiencethe wealth and beauty of the geological monument.Furthermore, special screenings of audiovisual mate-rial gave information on the Museum and the visiting

parks, and a special educational animated filmattracted the attention of the young visitors.Brochures in Turkish were distributed, whereas toursin the exhibition area were held in Turkish, Englishand Greek. Many of the festival visitors, fascinated bythe exhibits, decided to further visit the geologicalmonument in its original place in the west side of theisland.It is estimated that more than 7,000 people visitedthe exhibition and admired the impressive fossils.The success of the exhibition vindicated the efforts ofthe organizers, who took the initiative to present and

promote the Lesvos Petrified Forest during theFestival, as well as the Hellenic Tourism DevelopmentCo., who financially supported the participation ofthe Natural History Museum of the Lesvos PetrifiedForest in the 1st Greek-Turkish Festival.

Lesvos Petrified Forest Exhibition

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Greek-Turkish Festival in Mytilene


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e part ic ipated in

Significant outcome for the promotion of Lesvosand the Petrified Forest is expected from the par-ticipation of the Natural History Museum at theInternational Tourism Fair ITB Berlin, the largesttravel exhibition in the world held from 7-11 March2012. With this participation, the Museum aims toboost the visitation of Lesvos for the Germantourism market in this very difficult period for theGreek tourism industry.The presentation of the Lesvos Petrified Forest in aspecial pavilion, designed exclusively for the exhi-bition, was organized in collaboration with otherGeoparks members of the European and WorldGeoparks Networks. The Petrified Forest was thecentral theme of the pavilion, which was awardedby ITB as the eighth best stand of non-governmen-tal organizations among 10,500 exhibitors! In aprominent position of the stand, products ofLesvos such as olive oil, ouzo, and products of

Women Cooperatives were presented.The participation of the Petrified Forest in the exhi-bition was possible through the collaborationbetween the Museum and the North AegeanRegion. The booth included extensive informationand photographic material from EuropeanGeoparks, special presentations on alternativeforms of tourism, as well as local delicacies andtraditional products of Geoparks. The PetrifiedForest and Lesvos attracted the attention of bothtourism experts and ordinary visitors, whoshowed great interest in the printed informative

material, available in German and English.

Event for Geotourism

Particularly important was the participation of the

Museum in the special event Geotourism andGeoparks, organized by the ITB. The Museum wasrepresented by Mr. Ilias Valiakos, Head of theMuseums Research Department, who presentedthe Petrified Forest, the geological and naturalmonuments of Lesvos, services and opportunitiesfor visitors of the Geopark. Among the participantsin the event were Jonathan Tourtellot, FoundingDirector of the National Geographic Centre forSustainable Destinations, Ka Ming Yeung, HongKong Senior Geopark Officer, Dietrich Kbler, ChiefAdministrative Officer of Country District of theOdenwald Region, Andreas Larem, Mayor ofMessel, Werner Klckner, Mayor of DaunAssociation of Municipalities. The event had agreat success and it was the best opportunity topromote the Lesvos Petrified Forest as a leadingalternative tourist destination.

ITB Berlin: the Worlds Leading

Travel Trade Show


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e part ic ipated in

The 9th International Book Fair of Thessaloniki,which began on the 24th May, closed its gates onthe 27th May 2012, with great success. This yearssignificant participation in the long-established

book's greatest celebration in Greece was that ofthe Natural History Museum of the Lesvos PetrifiedForest. The presence of the Museum in the fair pro-vided a unique opportunity to thousands of bookfans who visited the exhibition during the four daysof its operation to meet the globally renownedLesvos Petrified Forest, its rich publishing, educa-tional and scientific activity, as well as the numer-ous beauties of Lesvos.

The Natural History Museum of the Lesvos PetrifiedForest captured the interest of visitors from thefirst day of the exhibition. Highlighting the numer-ous printed and electronic publications of themuseum, including educational booklets, guides,proceedings of scientific meetings and coffee-tablebooks, the stand 69 in Pavilion 13 became a majorstop during the fair visit, enabling everyone toadmire the unique geological monument, and alsoto get information about a possible visit to theisland of Lesvos. The young friends who visited thestand had the great opportunity to dig for fossilsinto volcanic rocks, watch a short film about thecreation of the Petrified Forest and get to know theplants and animals of Lesvos in colouring pages!Valuable for the Museum was the promotion of thePetrified Forest to a large number of teachers whowere informed on the educational programs of theMuseum and the possibilities for the Museum todesign for any visiting school targeted educationalactivities at the Museum and across the wholeisland of Lesvos.During the fair, the Museum designed and organ-ised with great success an educational event in theKids Corner of the fair, in the evening of the 26th

May. During the event, young friends of theMuseum together with their parents were intro-duced to the plants and animals that lived in theAegean area 20 million years ago and the process-es that led to their fossilization. Using the e-learn-ing application "Lesvos Petrified Forest" and theGEORAMA museum-kit, children played, partici-pated in excavations and painted animals and

plants of the Petrified Forest!The participation of the Natural History Museum ofthe Lesvos Petrified Forest for the first time in theInternational Book Fair of Thessaloniki and the par-ticular promotion to school groups and teachers isone of the numerous activities of the Museumaimed to highlight the great geological monumentand attract visitors to the island.

The Lesvos Petrified Forest in

the 9

th

International Book Fair

of Thessaloniki

The Director of the Museum, Assoc. Prof. N.

Zouros welcomed at the Museums stand the

Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the Aristotle

University of Thessaloniki, Prof. S. Pavlides.

Children colouring the animals of the Lesvos

Petrified Forest at the Kids Corner.


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