KEPEA Thermis (CEES – Center of Education for the Environment and Sustainability) was founded in 2018 after a long time effort from Thermi and Livadi municipal authorities. Officially CEES Thermis started its operation in March 2022 when the first staff arrived at the center.
The staff of CEES Thermis:
Head:
Loukia Lithoxoidou, Kindergarten teacher,
Ph.D. In Environmental Education
Educators:
Aristidis Konstantinidis, Civil Engineering Architect, M.Sc. Environment and Behavior
Alexandros Oikonomidis, Economist,
M.Sc. Specialization in Environmental Education
CEES Thermis was chosen by the Municipality of Thermi to be placed in Livadi, a small mountain settlement 40 km from Thessaloniki, at an altitude of 740 meters. Livadi is built on the slopes of a valley. In the settlement there are buildings preserved from the Ottoman times. The village was burned in 1821 by the Ottomans, but was repopulated and by 1928 the inhabitants exceeded 2,500. The village is surrounded by oak, beech, chestnut and pine tree forests. The fauna of Livadi includes wild boars, foxes, jackals, wolves, badgers, hares, turtles, partridges, pheasants, eagles, hawks, etc.
CEES Thermis building operates on bioclimatic principles with the use of photovoltaic panels for lighting, reinforced thermal insulation, water collector, heat pumps and various other technologies to save natural resources. The Education Centers for Environment and Sustainability are a network of decentralized public educational structures of the Ministry of Education, with the aim of environmental education and its support at local, national and international level. The ultimate goal of environmental education is the cultivation of environmental consciousness and the awareness of students, so that they perceive the environment holistically. It collaborates in a number of local and national networks and in various actions together with other CEES and the Education offices of Eastern Thessaloniki. It also collaborates with the Municipality of Thermi and the important organizations located in the area such as the Institute of Forestry Research and the plant Genetic Material Bank of ELGO-Dimitra.
The Center of Education for the Environment and Sustainability of Thermi (CEES/ KEPEA) is a public non-profit organization, located in Livadi, Thermi, in Thesaloniki, Greece. Its main work is applying environmental education programmes for primary and secondary students, usually following an invitation, or sometimes in the frame of European projects as well (Erasmus and eTwinning).
The center holds another task organizing and implementing educational courses for primary and secondary teachers through active participative methods. CEES/ KEPEA Thermis co-ordinates an environmental education local thematic net called «recording the aerial pollution», while at the same time takes part in other national and regional thematic networks. The link of the organisation to the local society and its mission to support the residents of the area towards an environmental sustainable development is of crucial importance thus a number of non formal events are organized every year to achieve that aim. Last but not least, CEES/ KEPEA Thermis produces educational material in relation to its educational programmes, courses and nets.
