Land of Extinct Volcanoes Geopark – geoeducation for everyone

Not simply volcanoes – The Geoheritage of the Cretaceous System in the Land of the Extinct Volcanoes Geopark, West Sudetes (SW Poland)

“…Bilingual descriptions of these localities are freely available on the website (www1), whereas those considered most representative and visually attractive are also presented in more popular ways. In 2019, an official dossier was submitted to the UNESCO Headquarters and the LEV Geopark is awaiting evaluation (Słomski et al, 2019).…”

“…1). In parts of the former, the Land of Extinct Volcanoes (LEV) Geopark was recently formally created as a bottom-up initiative, and, soon after, an application for the status of UNESCO Global Geopark was submitted (Pijet-Migoń & Migoń, 2019;Słomski et al, 2019). Although the emphasis is clearly on the evidence of ancient volcanic activity, which was not limited to the Cenozoic, but involved several phases of Palaeozoic volcanism as well, more than 100 potential geosites identified within the Geopark area cover the entire spectrum of geoheritage, from rock records to the use of stone resources.…”

Exploring Causal Relationships for Geoheritage Interpretation — Variable Effects of Cenozoic Volcanism in Central European Sedimentary Tablelands

“…In Poland, geoparks are not a form of legal protection or territorial organization. Nevertheless, in 2017, an agreement was signed by the local municipalities to work towards eventual inclusion of the region into the UNESCO Global Geopark network and the name 'Land of Extinct Volcanoes Geopark' is increasingly used (Pijet- Migoń and Migoń 2019;Słomski et al 2019). The area of the aspiring geopark covers 1263 km 2 and includes 14 municipalities, both urban and rural.…”

“…A milestone in the development of geoeducation was the opening of an educational centre in the village of Dobków in 2015, focused on volcanic history. It can be visited individually or on a guided tour, but the main target groups are school parties and various kinds of workshops run by professional educators are the main offer (Pijet-Migoń and Migoń 2019, Słomski et al 2019).…”