After being closed for ten years, the forestry college on Monday reopened its doors as a higher education institution offering a diploma in forestry

“The reopening of the college, after almost ten years of suspension, is a conscious strategic choice of the government responding to the need to staff the forestry department with specialised professionals and to society’s demand to protect and manage our natural wealth with knowledge and responsibility,” Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said.

The college has opened in Prodromos with a total of 20 students.

She emphasised that with their choice to study forestry, the students did not only chose a profession but rather to become part of a “great battle.”

“Our forests are a national capital, they are the breath of our country, the refuge of biodiversity, our shield against climate change,” Panayiotou said.

Director of the forestry college Andreas Mavroyiakoumos presented the new three-year programme, corresponding to 186 ECTS, a standard means for comparing academic credits, making the workload equivalent to an undergraduate university programme.

He said it will be taught in Greek with physical presence, combining a mixture of theoretical lessons and practical training.

The students will be trained in forest ecology, forestry, forest nursery management and fire protection and acquire skills in sustainable forest management and the restoration of degraded areas, he said.

This, Mavroyiakoumos added, included training in the use of modern technologies including computer-based mapping systems to create, manage, analyse and display data linked to specific geographic locations (GIS) and remote sensing, which provides insights into various natural and human-related phenomena and allows for the analysis of related changes over longer periods of time.

“Graduates will be qualified to work in positions at the forestry department and other public services, in local government, the private sector, ecotourism or in research programmes on climate change,” he said.

Director of the forestry department Savvas Ezekiel welcomed the students and spoke of a “historic day for the future of the forestry department.”

“The forester is the guardian of the forests, he is the one who leaves his family to rush to every fire and give his best,” he said.

Presidential advisor for civil protection Georgios Boustras emphasised the importance of investing in education and knowledge, describing it as “the best protection against natural disasters.”

He stressed that the college was to operate in a multi-faceted manner, so that both students and local communities would benefit from its academic programme.