The first day we met in the Offices of Ente Parco Madonie where the coordinators presented their own geoparks and the project introducing the partners with the partecipation of teachers and students of  an Italian high school and staff of Ente Parco.

 Being the topic Geopark we have planned the visit  of 2  villages Petralie and Polizzi and in each village we have been received by the Mayor with dissemination of our project. We have also visited the capital town Palermo where art is mixed with history and Sicilian culture and a Seaside turistic place Terrasini. 

We focused our program on Geoparks, or those specific geographical areas with recognised sites and landscapes of international geological value and which are managed according to a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. In the Geoparks, the protection of geodiversity is a primary objective: conservation is combined with sustainable development and involves local communities creating opportunities for collaboration and exchange of experience. We have organised the trekking in the geosites for a day  with two geologists Alessandro and Fabio Torre where the guests could admire fossils dated 230 million years ago,   take photos to Mediterranean pieces of soils, fossils,  flora and wild fauna, bird watching, learning about why geoparks were created. Visiting Petralia participants have visited also the Urban Geologic Paths. In order to show our history we have visited two Museums The archeological Museum Collisani in Petralia and the Museum Abies in Polizzi in the Munipalicy.

 We have shown the current project LIFE for the protection, cultivation and reintroduction of the fir Abies a tree living only in Polizzi Generosa in the Madonie and the creation of a seed Bank. 

We have booked all the meals chosing various dishes of Sicilian menù, very rich and genuine products of The Madonie from the cheese to  vegetables  factory we have also visited. 

All the partners were hosted in the same hotel , and the cooperation in all activities, has created  

a great socialisation, a strong team. The last day we organased a project meeting for the organisation of next meeting and activites.

The only problem we had and we regret a lot is that the Portuguese team couldn’t leave from Azores and at  last minute we had to delete hotel, trasportation and restaurants fortunately without paying any fees. Weare inviting them next September in order to visit our geopark

After a long 48-hour journey passing through 4 airports, located almost in the middle of the Atlantic, in the center of the anti-cyclonic zone, we arrived in the Azores Islands and precisely in Sao George. We made a stopover in Lisbon which allowed us to a panoramic visit of this wonderful European capital. These nine islands are bathed by the Gulf Stream and enjoy a maritime climate, almost stable throughout the year, with an average temperature of 17°unfortunately while waiting at the airport for 7 hours for the connection we witnessed two cyclones that hit Sao Miguel, wind and rain that accompanied us for the entire period of our stay. In the waiting room a sparrow fluttered prisoner and Vincenzo  comforted me by telling me that there were many crumbs but I hadn't understood that the little bird was saved from the tornado that he surely had foreseen. Different species of land and sea birds coexist on the Island Buzzards, hawks, kites, partridges, crows, crows, pigeons, seagulls, royal terns, blackbirds, canaries, petrels, various types of shearwaters and the very rare priolo or bullfinch of the Azores.

On the first day of project activities we visited the Calheta school, a very large and well equipped school with one-wall large windows overlooking the ocean to make the rooms bright with consequent energy savings, an expedient also present in the theater with the glass background on the ocean. Sao George has 8 thousand inhabitants and only two cities Velas and Calheta and very few cars. Wherever you meet dozens of cattle along the way, the coordinator Pedro told me that there are more cows than people on the island

The humidity rate is very high, the primary reason for the spectacular vegetation of the islands and the very green pastures, around 77%. The production of exquisite cheeses is excellent and varied. Two days of activities were dedicated to visiting the length and breadth of the island.

Precisely this isolation makes it possible even today for the existence of a fair number of endemic species, both animal and vegetable and are therefore, rightly considered one of the world sanctuaries of bio and geodiversity and a UNESCO heritage site. They are entirely of volcanic origin, created by lava escaping from the ocean floor. The oldest of the islands, Santa Maria,  was formed 7 million years ago, then sank and re-emerged. It is, therefore, the only island to have marine fossils in its rocks. The youngest island is Pico and it was mainly formed 300,000 years ago. Among the original flora of the archipelago, which partially disappeared after the arrival of the colonizers, we must remember the so-called laurel forest, made up of evergreen laurels that reach up to 40 meters in height and shrubs of juniper, heather, laurel, tamarisk and various dozens of other endemic species still observable today. These forests, remnants of a vegetation that covered a large part of the Mediterranean basin during the Pliocene, regressed in the rest of Europe due to drought, replaced by vegetation more resistant to the dry climate. The position of the Azores archipelago, with its temperate climate and the consequent maintenance of average humidity, makes it possible to mitigate climatic fluctuations and therefore the survival of these forests. Without wanting to be exhaustive, we also mention the Cedar of Lebanon, the Holly, the Viburnum, the Erica and the Euphorbia. During the centuries of colonization, man has introduced many other species that are now an integral part of the landscape. Among these we remember the Acacias, the Camellias, the Magnolias, the Hibiscuses, the Hydrangeas and the Azaleas which with their peculiar blue and pink colors adorn the streets, even the hydrangeas have become large hedges that limit the streets. In the Azores, again thanks to the particular humid and temperate climate, all kinds of vegetables and fruit grow such as citrus fruits, pineapples and bananas, tea and now, even coffee! that the Nunes produce and mix together with the continuation of traditional textile works.

The greatest faunal wealth of the Azores archipelago was and still remains today in the sea where the major water mammals live : in the waters around the islands live sperm whales, orcas and dolphins, 5 species of sea turtles, together with swordfish, tuna, barracuda, anchovies, groupers and many other types of fish.

We visited a tuna fishery and tuna fishing and canning is present in two factories similar to the Sicilian ones. In the area there are abundant colonies of molluscs and crustaceans which complete a truly exceptional marine biodiversity. Thanks to the ideal position of the archipelago, at the center of the route between America and Europe, the Azores islands have become an almost obligatory stop for many migratory birds that stop, refresh and nest on its territory during their great intercontinental crossings.

Naturally there are porcupines, hares, ferrets and other small terrestrial mammals. Finally, it is important to remember that snakes are absent throughout the archipelago.

We concluded the activities with a farewell dinner and the delivery of the certifications and with emotion we greeted our partners. This experience was very different from the others because life seems to be far from stress, immersed in a vegetation so respected, so dense, lost in an immense ocean with its majestic presence, its storms and its beauties, defended only by a unshakeable religious faith that is breathed in every corner of the island protected by the patron from which it takes its name: Saint George and a lot of churches  the best Santa Barbara.

The first day we met in geonature center in KIELCE capital town of geopark UNESCO Holy Cross where the coordinator Michael Poros presented us  their  geopark through slides, then we visited different educational rooms for all levels of students and the Chronos Exibition with cinema 3D. We had a full immersion in a reality of 350 milions of  years ago. 

Being the topic Geopark we have planned the visit  its  cities Kielce- Kadzielnia- Chęciny -  Morawica and in each town we have been received by the MayorS with dissemination of our project. 

We focused our program on Geoparks, or those specific geographical areas with recognised sites and landscapes of international geological value and which are managed according to a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. We visited also the BotanIcal Garden , The Paradise Cave  

The Holy Cross Mountains Geopark UNESCO is the Polish Global Geopark in which the geologists of the Haliotis Association, coming from the Madonie Geopark Unesco,and also Portuguese geologists were able to build fruition synergies linked to the peculiarities of European Geoparks. Specifically, The Holy Cross mountains (including the Geopark area) occupy a special geological position in the European continent; in fact, in them it is possible to find rocky outcrops of the middle and upper Devonian in the form of limestone, dolomite and marl which represent shallow seas of about 360 million years ago. The territory is also characterized by tectonic evidence (faults, folds) documenting the Caledonian, Variscan and Alpine tectonic movements. In addition there are hydrothermal veins with deposits of calcite, baryte and galena and copper minerals and numerous karst formations representing the Permian-Triassic and Cenozoic eras in the geological history of the region; as well as significant remains of historical extraction of minerals and rocks, which document the relationship between man and inanimate nature present since prehistoric times (Paleolithic / Neolithic).

Visiting caves, museums, the Geological Centrum, reserves, geosites The Triassic is the first geological period of the Mesozoic, it can be useful (with the due palaeo-environmental reconstructions) to virtually unite the two Geoparks: Holy Cross and Madonie by building a bridge that uses the geological singularities of the two territories (also through the geosites) to give a significant wide-ranging cultural sharing between the two nations.

In fact, Madonite rocks span a period of time from the Middle Trias (about 235 million years ago) to the Quaternary; they are mainly made up of Mesozoic-Tertiary carbonate, calcareous-marly and silico-clastic soils as well as clayey-marly deposits. On them rest the Miocene sediments in which the evaporites (gypsum and rock salt) stand out. Geologically, the rocky outcrops express very well the geological evolution of the Mediterranean area starting from the marine sediments referable to the Tethys (ancient ocean that has now disappeared), with the relative tectonic implications and territorial interactions with man where settlements are also present here Mesolithic and Neolithic.

Although the scientific interest is prevalent for geologists and paleontologists, by visiting the Holy Cross Mountains Unesco Geopark and above all the Geoeducation Center, we were able to see how conservation in Poland has improved a lot with the entry into Europe both for the management of the protected and both by the preparation and ability of key personnel of these protected areas.

Unlike ours, nature in Poland is largely wild and untouched. The flora consists of deciduous coniferous, conifers and deciduous forests and includes: pines, firs, , alders, oaks, ash trees, maple, birches.

Wildflower habitats are vital havens of biodiversity that support a huge variety of species from butterflies, grasshoppers, bees and other insects, small mammals and birds to large grazing animals.

In its many naturalistic sites it is possible to spot various wild animals such as the majestic European bison, wild boar, bear, wolf and lynx.

The vegetation which, unlike ours, is made up of large and real woods occupies almost 30% of the country's surface.

We also visited the mountains from which derives the logo and name of HOLY CROSS, an important historical event that was the creation of the Benedictine abbey in Łysa Góra where the  the relics of the Holy Cross  were saved

One day was dedicated to let us know their culture, their traditions visiting a old ceramics factory, a school, a castle, traditional dances and traditional dishes in tipical restaurants.

We thank Michael Poros and Witold and their team for their friendship and this unforgettable experience.

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