founder members 
of the Friends of Green Lesbos

	Anne and John Bowers
	Richard Brooks
	Carol Christ
	George and Efstratia Kapsalis
	Erika Meyer
	Lefteris Papafilippou

Anne and John Bowers. John and Anne are both now retired. Anne was a teacher of Ancient Greek and has been studying modern Greek for many years. John was an ecological economist at the University of Leeds who has written books and articles on many aspects of European environmental policy. A report on green tourism in Lesbos and the Polychnitos Thermal baths is available on his own website (http://lubswww.leeds.ac.uk/MKB/johnbowers). 

John and Anne first visited Lesbos in 1983 and have been many times since. In the 1980's, before the hotels were built, they stayed in apartments overlooking the pool in Skala Kallonis. Now they stay in Skala Polychnitou. They produced the earliest printed reports of spring bird migration in Lesbos.  A complete set of their reports 1982-2000 is available for consultation at the information centre run by Lefteris Papafilippou in Skala Polychnitou.

Richard Brooks. Richard is a professional bird photographer who has won awards for his work. He is author of Birding on the Greek Island of Lesbos (Brookside Publishing, 1998). He is an enthusiast for Lesbos with a wealth of experience and knowledge of its wildlife and wildlife habitats who has done more than anyone else to publicise its unique qualities. Each spring between March and May he is to be found in the Malemi Hotel in Skala Kallonis guiding and advising visitors on where to go and what to look for; in the evenings he provides talks and slide shows on the birds of Lesbos. More information on Richard and his activities can be obtained by visiting his web site http://www.richard-brooks.co.uk.

 

 

                          
Carol Christ. Captivated by the beauty of the island, Carol resigned a university professorship in California and moved to Molyvos in 1987. Her recent passion for watching birds led her to work to save the wetlands of Lesbos. In 2001 she circulated a petition about saving the wetlands of the Gulf of Kalloni that attracted over 600 signatures.

Carol is director of Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Religion (http://www.goddessariadne.org) offering educational programmes for women in Lesbos and Crete. She is author of 6 books including Womenspirit Rising (Harper & Row, 1979) and Rebirth of the Goddess (Routledge, 1998). She believes that the moral challenge of our time is whether human beings can find ways to live in greater harmony with each other and all beings in the web of life.

Carol is our Vice President.

 

George and Efstratia Kapsalis. Effy and George run the Malemi Hotel in Skala Kallonis, famous as the place to stay for bird watchers and as the centre for information on the birds of the island. They have been very active in promoting green tourism and thereby extending the tourist season. They have sponsored the book Birds of Lesvos written by Richard Brooks. The Hotel can be contacted at malemi@otenet.gr.

 

Erika Meyer. Erika lives in Polychnitos. In partnership with Lefteris Papafilippou she runs the house on the beach at Skala Polychnitou that provides accommodation to many green tourists and is the headquarters of Friends of Green Lesbos. For many years Erika organised walking tours of the Island. Her Knowledge of the byways is legendary. For information contact her on 0030-252-42-678 (telephone and fax).

 

 

Lefteris Papafilippou. Lefteris is an organic farmer in Skala Polychnitou and a strong believer in the need to farm and fish in ways that safeguard the habitats of Lesbos, in particular the precious and delicate ecosystems of the gulf of Kalloni. He works with Erika Meyer on green tourism. He produces very high quality organic olive oil. He has reconstructed an historic house in Polychnitos, which is sometimes rented to green tourists. He maintains an information centre in Skala Polychnitou on Lesbos and its environment, which contains an excellent collection of books articles. The information centre serves as the headquarters for Friends of Green Lesbos.