Apano Meria

Remote place Greece Syros

Not far from Ermoupolis, lies a remote and inaccessible area of Syros. Apano Meria occupies the northern part of the island and offers a landscape of overlapping shrubs, marbles and ancient drywall formations created by its first inhabitants.

Here we meet some of the oldest vestiges of human presence on the island, these barren lands have nurtured the people of Syros for centuries. These arid mountain tops will stay there to remind us of an old, different way of life, before Syros became densely inhabited.

In 1997, a permanent Wildlife Refuge, encompassing 190 acres of agricultural, grassland and partially forest land, was established in Syros, fulfilling the requirements for covering the needs of fauna in terms of peace, food and water, in the location of Apano Meria, of the Municipality of Syros. In addition, as of 2010 the whole area has been declared a NATURA2000 protected area.

Approximately 170 years ago, in 1845, the German geologist Hausman discovered in Syros a mineral with a striking blue color that he called glaucophanis (from the glauca + phanis: it looks like blue). Nowadays Syros is considered the most representative site of cyanoschistoliths and eclogites in the world. The whole island is a geological museum.

Apano Meria brings together archeological, geological and biological wealth, that hasn’t been touched by human development in the last century. Creating a balance between environmental preservation and tourist-led development is the central challenge we recognize in this remote place.

The project:

Located north of the island of Syros, Apano Meria has a vast cultural heritage and an amazing landscape that is being protected and developed with the help of the SMOTIES team. Working together with residents promotes a collective awareness to identify and co-create sustainable practices and solutions.
Social and ecological measures are intended to strengthen the community on the one hand and conserve and protect limited natural resources on the other.
A workshop has already been held in Ermoupolis at the University of the Aegean, which focused on the special features and cultural heritage of Apano Meria. Fundamental to this are social cohesion and justice, which form the basis for the preservation of culture and environmental protection.

We successfully engaged the community by facilitating a workshop to gather input on the proposed creative intervention elements. This inclusive approach ensured diverse perspectives were considered, from the local inhabitants to the city dwellers, the students and the experts. We then prompted participants to have a direct say in key decisions, by creating an interactive voting installation. Following the voting results and the predefined design constraints, we developed a detailed construction plan, secured necessary approvals, and engaged professional services for execution. Throughout the construction phase, we maintained open communication with the community, providing regular updates and addressing concerns promptly. This collaborative effort culminated in a project that reflects the community's needs and vision.

 

Windows on the Future selected

Windows on the Future are thematic lenses through which we can look into the future to start regenerating remote places into more liveable environments. Discover more about it.

WoF1 - Citizenship and Governance
Wof2 - Sustainable living
WoF3 - Beyond Tourism
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