The National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, the largest science research centre in Greece, Koinos Topos Institute, and DISSCO l Dissemination Science Communication, an organisation specialising in science communication and creative citizen-led projects, launched an exciting new partnership in Kalavryta, in October, 2020. “H2C2, Hike to Hack Climate Change” will use NCSR Demokritos’ research station at the top of Helmos Mountain (2314m) as a focal point in order to create new educational activities that will give local citizens and visitors alike the opportunity to learn more about cutting-edge climate change research and how it may impact citizens’ “lives”.
The project will include two key activities:
- A walking tour: the partnership is working with local organisations to develop and test a route for a new educational mountain tour. It will take visitors on a complete journey of the mountain: they will learn how local stories and past mythologies can help us understand our relationship with the environment, and how research leads to a better understanding of the mountain and how the mountain, and our wider world is changing. In order to bring these stories to life, the tour will also include information on the mountain flora and fauna.
- Citizen-Scientists: the partnership will create a local group of citizen-scientists who will participate in a project of measuring local air quality. With adequate support by scientists, along with the necessary scientific instrumentation, participants will learn how to plan a science experiment, collect data and present results back to the community and relevant science networks.
This project is funded by the Green Fund and will run from 14th September 2020 until 12th March 2022.
Project Coordinator / Contact person: DISSCO – Evgenia Tsianou, discover@chelmos.cc www.helmos.cc