By Vasiliki Vasileiou, Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education
On the occasion of the World Wetlands Day, the Cyprus Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CYCERE) organized an information and awareness event for the EnviroCitizen Project on birds and wetlands. The event took place on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at the educational centre of the CYCERE at Agios Nikolaos Farm, on the Akrotiri peninsula.
Dr Andreas Hadjichambis welcomed the attendees and referred to the great research, educational and informative work carried out by CYCERE in Cyprus and abroad. He also introduced the EnviroCitizen Project, its main tasks and deliverables and the coordinator and partner institutions.
Within the framework of the event, the results of the research program EnviroCitizen were presented. The main deliverables that CYCERE is contributing to EnviroCitizen were presented. Citizens Count Activity Sheets, which will soon be integrated into the environmental center’s educational programs, were also presented.
Additionally, there was a presentation for the Great Backyard Bird Count campaign. It is noteworthy that this campaign is taking place for the first time in Cyprus.
On the occasion of the announcement of the campaign, a presentation was made about the birds of the Akrotiri Peninsula.
Speakers at the event were Dr Andreas Hadjichambis, Dr Yiannis Georgiou, Dr Dimitra Hadjichambi, Vasiliki Vasiliou, Dr Nikos Kassinis.
After that, the attendees had the opportunity for birdwatching and bird counting in the rich habitat of the Despotic Lake of Akrotiri.
The event was supported by Birdlife Cyprus, Terra Cypria, the Game and Fauna Fund of the Cyprus Ministry of Interior, the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment of the Cyprus Government, ETEK (the technical advisor of the state and citizens), ENEC, EnviroCitizen, the Department of Forests and other stakeholders from Cyprus.