GSS-2015

Biodiversity Theory and Practice. Zagori, Greece, 29^rd June - 10^th July, 2015

 

This school continues the series of Greek Summer Schools in Conservation Biology that began in 2008 but will be of a more quantitative nature and will focus on biodiversity. GSS-2015 will be under the aegis of the Society for Conservation Biology and of HELECOS. We aim to equip participants with an understanding of the principles of modern biodiversity theory and to teach practical skills for biodiversity fieldwork including sampling design and monitoring. Students will also learn how to use some of the main computer packages for biodiversity data analysis, mainly in the R programming environment. The duration is 12 days. The course is worth 6 ECTS and is aimed at graduate and postgraduate students; applicants with good quantitative skills are especially welcome. The fee of 700€ covers registration, food, accommodation and local transport. The number of participants is limited to 15. GSS-2015 will be held at the PALASE Field Station of the University of Ioannina in Ano Pedina. As familiarity with R is essential, we offer a special two-day refresher course (27^th-28^th June) prior to the start of the school for those wishing to ‘brush up’ on R. More information at the GSS website (gss.bat.uoi.gr).

 

Note: We are offering a number of places at a reduced (€200 instead of €700) fee. Applicants seeking such support should indicate this in their applications. Preference is given to applicants with economic difficulties. The British Ecological Society offers a number of travel grants for this course. More information.

(http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/grants-awards/training-and-travel-grants/)

3 SCB Grants are available for the Greek Summer School! Deadline 31st March

The Europe Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB-ES) invites all undergraduate and early postgraduate students from all over Europe, including Turkey to take part in the Greek summer school: “Conservation Biology in Europe: Building a coherent strategy for the future” to be held in Papingo, Greece, 26 June - 9 July 2011.
The School is an Erasmus Intensive Programme organized by the University of Ioannina (Prof. V. Kati) and funded by State Scholarship Foundation – IKY. The two week course is designed for 18 students, of whom 15 are coming from the five Universities taking part in the Erasmus IP. Three more students from all over Europe will receive a grant from the SCB Europe Section, covering the following costs:

1. A grant of 300 euros from for each SCB participant
2. Transport upon arrival and departure from Ioannina town to the residence site (Papingo)
3. Welcome Dinner at arrival date
4. Field transport, field excursions, all tuition fees and use of research equipment
5. One year membership to the Society for Conservation Biology + membership to the European Section + online Subscription to Conservation Biology Journal

SCB-students should cover their accommodation, travel expenses to Ioannina, medical insurance and any other cost not mentioned above. The cost for accommodation (sharing a room for three), breakfast and one meal per day will be approx. 40 EUR per day (550 EUR for the whole duration of the summer school).
Don’t miss this opportunity of building your future career in conservation biology!
Register online: www.cbcd.eu/gss

Training future conservationists – GSS 2010

˝The Greek Conservation Summer School 2010 in Papingo was a fantastic opportunity to learn practical techniques, involved in current conservation, and the theory behind them.” (Paul, 34). Students’ evaluations showed that the GSS2010 in Papingo, Greece co-organized by the SCB Europe Section again, was a great success.

The Summer School, as an Erasmus Intensive Programme, provided a diverse multidisciplinary two-week training programme from 13-26 June 2010. Fourteen undergraduate students from 4 countries participated in the course, titled “Conservation Biology in Europe: building a coherent strategy for the future”. It comprised a wide range of hot issues: from the biodiversity loss, global climate change to GMOs. Beside the up-to-date scientific knowledge, the lecturers also gave an overview of the current relevant European conservation policies. ˝Challenges in conservation cannot be resolved by scientific know-how only - when training future conservationists, we believe it is equally important to describe the relevant socio-economic and political context in addition to pure science”- says Dr Vassiliki Kati, coordinator of the Summer School. ˝We wanted to provide therefore a lively and realistic picture of the current conservation issues through our training, and we also gave time for open discussions and debates”.

Practical modules and a two-day field excursion put the theory into practice, where students could try themselves in collecting and analysing data. The two day mountaineering excursion led to the core area of the Pindos National Park, the largest mountainous Park of Greece and gave the opportunity to observe the alpine ecosystem.

According to the evaluation of the students, the quality of the Summer School was in general high and provided a multidisciplinary insight into conservation. Personal Development of personal skills necessary for the future work as a conservation biologist, e.g. networking, project management was also given a high priority during the course.

The Erasmus Intensive Programme will last 2 more years (2011-2012). For further details please visit www.cbcd.eu/gss.

The first SCB-Greek Summer School on conservation biology!

The Education Committee of SCB-Europe in collaboration with the University of Ioannina (Greece) and a local NGO (Center of Biological and Cultural Diversity) successfully held the first summer school of the SCB-Europe in Greece. The School was held from 31 August to 7 September under the title: "Introduction to Conservation Biology, a summer international school to promote conservation science" (www.cbcd.eu/gss).

The course was held in Papingo, in the core area of Pindos National Park, the greatest mountainous national park of the country and it was funded by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Public Works. An international instructor team of conservation biologists gave lectures to 15 undergraduate and postgraduate students from all over Europe. Professors and students lived a unique experience in the world of conservation biology, indulging interactive lectures, field sessions, mountaineering, but also local culture, dances and gastronomy, in the amazing mountain landscape of Papingo. The rector of the University of Ioannina awarded the certificates of attendance to the young conservation biologists, who also received a two-year free subscription to SCB journals and membership. Students evaluated the initiative very positively(9.2/10), encouraging hence the Committee to organize the Greek Summer School on an annual basis. Photos from the 1st SCB-GSS can be found in students' website http://picasaweb.google.com.tr/onder.cirik. We just started the fund-raising procedure! If you are interested in the Committee activities, or if you can help us with fundraising, please contact V. Kati (chair of EC, SCB-Europe) (info@cbcd.eu)