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Environmental education and awareness raising events organised and/or attended by the Laboratory of Vector Ecology and Applied Entomology (JSHU). Credit - Dr Angeliki Martinou.

Celebrating biodiversity at the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus by engaging the local communities

The Laboratory of Vector Ecology and Applied Entomology of the Joint Services Health Unit (Royal Air Force of Akrotiri) and the NGO Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre have devoted a large part of their research to engaging local communities of the Akrotiri UK Sovereign Base Area, as well as of Cyprus as a whole, in the study and importance of biodiversity. Three ongoing Darwin Plus Fellows focusing on invertebrates – ants, chalcid wasps, and ticks – have been increasing our knowledge of the biodiversity of Akrotiri Peninsula, with a fourth felllow researching anthropogenic and climatic pressures on insect prey of the protected Eleonora’s falcon, and a fifth one aiming to develop an electronic interactive tool to showcase knowledge regarding invasive alien species, pollinators, and mosquitoes; acquired during previous and current Darwin Plus projects.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”

Aside from these Fellowship programmes, Darwin Plus Local projects have also been undertaken for the  conservation of the Long-eared hedgehog, as well as raising awareness of the importance of arthropods and pollinators.

Throughout these projects and other international collaborations, we have engaged citizen scientists in surveys of non-native species, pollinators, ticks and other arthropods. In addition, we have produced  informative dissemination materials; posters and presentations; educational videos; and interactive floor and electronic games. We have also organised events such as the ‘Akrotiri BioBlitz 2024;’ which promoted public participation in biodiversity recording, utilising platforms such as iNaturalist and FIT Count; and visited schools raising public awareness on biodiversity related matters. Students have had the chance to observe, photograph, and study a range of animals, from smaller insects to larger creatures, such as birds and hedgehogs. These activities have been rewarding for both the public and early career researchers, enhancing scientific research, citizen science, and the involvement of people from a young age in science and natural history. We hope to further develop nature appreciation, environmental literacy, and citizenship of local communities to better protect the island’s important and captivating biodiversity.

As Baba Dioum famously said: “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”

Written by Katerina Athanassiou, Ioanna Angelidou, Chara Apostolidou, Eloise Springate, Andreas Josephides, Evangelos Koutsoukos, Jakovos Demetriou, and Angeliki F. Martinou.

• DPLUS198 - Creating capacity for the monitoring and raising local awareness of established / potentially invasive tick species and the pathogens they transmit.
• DPLUS200 – Studying native and non-native ants to increase knowledge on the biodiversity, spatiotemporal patterns and impacts of biological invasions through citizen-science and material surveys.
• DPLUS202 – Studying native and non-native Chalcid wasp species to increase knowledge of their biodiversity, biological invasions and impacts.
• DPLUS197 - Developing a game/electronic interactive tool through which knowledge acquired during previous and current Darwin Plus projects regarding invasive alien species, pollinators and mosquitoes will be disseminated electronically in an interactive fun way.
• DPL00079 - SBA Hedgehog supplementary feeding project and awareness campaign.
• DPL00014 - Raising awareness about the importance of arthropods.
• DPL00081 - Environmental education and Raising awareness about pollinators and beneficial insects.