The Butterfly Valley is one of Paros's most significant ecological sanctuaries, a NATURA 2000 site, cared for by a family committed to its preservation. Despite sitting so close to home, the island's primary schools have never had a structured programme to visit or learn about it, leaving a real gap in children's connection to one of their island's most important natural assets.
Greek islands are under growing pressure from climate change, overdevelopment and water scarcity, which makes building environmental stewardship from an early age all the more important. The Butterfly Valley offers an accessible, inspiring example of conservation and coexistence between people and nature, one that children need the chance to experience directly rather than only hear about.
The project
Butterfly Kids immerses schoolchildren from across Paros in the Butterfly Valley itself, building ecological literacy through direct, hands-on experience of a thriving protected ecosystem rather than classroom teaching alone. Visits and activities are designed together with the people who steward the valley, shaping a replicable educational model they can go on to run independently.
The programme is free for participating schools, removing cost and transport as barriers to taking part. Beyond the visit itself, the aim is to build lasting curiosity and a sense of ownership over the island's natural heritage, values children carry with them, sometimes returning to the valley with their own families outside school hours, and pass on within their wider community.
Who the project is for
The project's direct beneficiaries are around 400 to 600 primary school children, aged 6 to 12, attending all of Paros's primary schools, together with their teachers and accompanying educators.
Its impact reaches further, to the families of participating children, who are often inspired to revisit the sanctuary together, and to the Butterfly Valley itself, which gains a wider base of community engagement and long-term support for its conservation.
Project name: Aegean - Cyclades Preservation Fund (CPF)
Proposing organisation: Butterfly Kids
Area of intervention: Environment & Sustainable Communities
Country: Greece