Welcome

Crete is a special island. It is 5 million years old, located in the middle of the Mediterranean at equal distance to Europe, Africa Asia. It is obvious to have special nature with various influences. The endemic character (10 % of the species) and the diversity of ecosystems are essential features of its nature.

The large mountain areas above 2000 meters along the length of the island, often snowy, act like natural dams for the weather. They create rain , store water and cause diversity in ecosystems.

So visitors will be surprised when in a short time from the exotic beaches, they could find themselves in cool ravines filled with herbs or oak, in green fields with orchards or even in the Alpine region of its mountains.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

How to reach us:

You are supporting the knowledge and love for the Nature Park.

The assistance of donors gave us the opportunity to implement the idea of the park.  We would like to extend our thanks to those who have supported us since the beginning with their donations, sponsorships and other offers.

Sponsorships - for reasons of reliability - are not with money, but with items purchased and delivered to the park, or a sponsorship might simply be to supply goods or services.

 Our sponsors have the following privileges:

1.  Membership card with unlimited free entry to the park for immediate family members.
2.  Inscription indicating the sponsor on the website, in the park and if possible in printed materials.
3.  A T-shirt with the logo of the park.
4.  A 25% discount on children's parties and other park activities.

If you want to help, please contact us to find out what you can do, according to our needs and your own preferences.

Of course, you can also offer objects or materials essential to the day-to-day operations of the park.  For example:

  •  Wood, metal grids and other such materials are always needed, as the park will expand and the habitats will be enriched.
  •  Services such as making videos, creating informative material, presentations by SMEs etc on your website are always useful.
  •  We also need caravans, tents, sleeping bags and other such items for volunteers and for the best hospitality.
 And of course the biggest sponsorship is your love!

Volunteering in the Park

The Nature Park is run as a public non-profit activity that is based on the voluntary work of its creators, but volunteers from all over the world also come to help out.  Some of our fellow citizens have also chosen to spend a part of their time creatively by helping in the park.

Those people that come from other parts of the world usually stay for a few weeks or more.  They live in the park and by doing so, have a creative travel experience.

 If you wish to take part in the park's voluntary program, contact: www.helpx.net
or you can login and find our direct profile in helpx:
http://www.helpx.net/host.asp?hostid=9816&status=new




Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Nature Park

The Nature Park

The world of Cretan nature, its colours, forms & aromas
The Nature Park “BIOTOPES” has the concept of an ecosystem. On the hill already existed rich wild vegetation which we protected and filled with other plants from Crete. In the Biotopes, visitors encounter the edible plants «chorta», herbs with therapeutic attributes, herbal teas, aromatic plants, decorative flowers from Crete, Greece, and certain infrequent and threatened types of species of the island. Between the different plants live a lot of animals, like ants, worms, hedgehogs, frogs, turtles, lizards, spiders, scorpions, snakes, birds and butterflies. We created a lake and lots of the animals are attracted to live around it. People brought us some tropical animals they kept in the house, like iguanas, chameleons and snakes. We wanted to put those animals into their own natural biotopes with small lakes, plants and create for them the entire environment they need.
In the park, the signs provide a lot of information of the roughly 220 species of plants and the 50 species of animals. The signs include: the official Latin name, period of blossoming, their use, type of growing environment, as well as other locations the species can be found around the world.
In the Kiosk we offer some books about the Cretan Nature and a variety of natural products, like Cretan herb teas & oils.
Our ambition is to help the children and adults getting closer to nature again and realize that in nature we can find everything we need to live in harmony. Mother Nature can tell us so many stories, stories of creation, originality, development, competition, survival and finally balance.