LE.A.F. (LEarning About Forests) is an environmental project of Kolymvari Junior High School which is complementary to our Erasmus+ project.

The environmental group worked, among others, on the monumental trees of our island.  

What is a monumental tree? Either due to their enormous size or following legends, some trees in Crete have been declared natural monuments by the Greek state.

Students chose the most impressive ones and they are presenting them to you: 

ANO VOUVES OLIVE TREE

The olive tree has been declared by the Association of Cretan Olive Municipalities as a natural monument because of its shape and the exceptional aesthetics of its relied truck, reminiscent of exceptional woodwork.

From this tree, the winner of the men’s’ marathon in the Olympic Games Athens 2004 was crowned.

The area around the tree hosts a great olive museum and accepts thousands of visitors from around the world.

GIONAS PLANE TREE

This plane tree forms a small oasis in the monastery of Saint John Giona, contrary to the arid and eerie landscape around. It is said that a weird phenomenon takes place here, as the leaves of the plane tree are from the other side than usual.   

GORTYN ANCIENT OLIVE GROVE

Gortyn was the largest and most populous city of Crete during the Roman era. The important fact that makes the Olive Gortyn so special compared to other monumental olive trees of Crete is the fact there is an embedded Roman column in the trunk of an olive tree. This specific olive tree with the pillar has been declared by the Association of Cretan Olive Municipalities as a natural monument. Obviously, the column was once placed in a trunk cavity but then the tree grew and caged it.

If you want to know more, visit:

https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/flora/monumental-trees