The Laboratory of Olive, Vine and Agroecological Production Systems (LOVAPS) of the Hellenic Mediterranean University, the Natural History Museum of the University of Crete (UoC-NHMC), and members of the network Epaithros participated in the open seminar organized by the ETAM A.E, titled “Rural Tourism Network – Rural Greece: The Case of Crete”, that took place on Friday 11th of April 2025, at the Cultural Conference Centre of Heraklion, Crete.
The aim of the event was to present the “Rural Tourism Network: Epaithros” (https://www.epaithros.eu/en/) to the public, facilitate networking among its members, and promote it through informational kiosks and discussions with participants.
Special emphasis was given to the importance of oleotourism in promoting environmentally sustainable olive growing and the production of high environmental value olive oil.
The oleotourism programme and the certification standard developed by LOVAPS Lab, within the framework of the LIFE IGIC project, for olive orchards that incorporate green infrastructure (GI) were distributed, presented, and discussed with the participants.
The participants had the opportunity to communicate with the project team and learn about the significance of green infrastructure for a) biodiversity in olive orchards and b) the connectivity it provides in neighbouring natural ecosystems, such as the protected natural areas of the Natura 2000 network.
