An application of Systems Science in the context of Greek Environmental Education for planning interventions against volcanic hazards

SUMMARY

Schools (amid in secondary and primary education) are installations vulnerable to all kinds of hazards. Because within the last 70 years, at least, there has not been any experience of volcanic activity in Greece, this kind of hazard is not extensively referred to, by official plans, local communities as well as teachers and pupils. In this paper and by using the systemic methodology of Systems Inquiry, the authors make an exploratory analysis of school-units located at the relatively short distances of 2 to 50 Km from volcanoes with registered “Volcanic Explosivity Index” (VEI) activity. Data regarding schools, adopted from the official database of the Greek government and Ministry of Education, have been utilized. The results indicate, regarding only the historically registered VEI activity and not the following consequences/phenomena (as for example, a tsunami), that vulnerable schools are located in Sousaki (East Corinth prefecture), Methana, Milos, Santorini, Nisyros and Kos Islands. The possible number of educational personnel, pupils and infrastructures is estimated. New approaches in the context of Greek environmental education are proposed for the presentation of these hazards in the educational personnel.