Kalliopi Stara is a researcher of Cultural Ecology with emphasis on Sacred Natural Sites and Ethnobiology. She has a bachelor's degree from the Department of Philosophy, Education and Psychology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, a master's degree in Ecology from the University of Wales and a PhD from the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Ioannina. Since 2012 she has been employed as an external collaborator at the Department of Biological Applications and Technologies of the University of Ioannina, where she has been teaching Cultural Ecology since 2016. Her writing work includes 25 published papers in international journals, numerous chapters in edited volumes, books, environmental education materials and stories for children. Her book 'The Trees of Our Land. A fascinating tour of the trees of Greek nature and our culture' (Arteon pub. 2021) was awarded in 2022 by the Academy of Athens.