Model environmental website promoting forest recreation near wet-

lands in Greece

Athanasiadis Antonios, Andreopoulou Zacharoula

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Forestry and Natural Environment,

Laboratory of Forest Informatics, Box 247, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece,

tel. 2310.992714, 2310.992327/fax. 2310.992717,

e-mail: antatha@for.auth.gr, randreop@for.auth.gr

Abstract

Forest recreation grounds have been extremely popular over the last few years in Greece, especially

those allocated near wetlands, not only because of the attractive landscape they modulate, but also for the

great amount of activities which are usually available such as fishing, sightseeing, water sports etc.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and its applications act as providers of a great

amount of information and services related to all sectors of science. Within that framework the promotion

of forest recreation grounds can be achieved through applications such as websites within the internet, al-

though there is a lack of environmental websites in Greece. This paper proposes a model of website’s

content within a framework that promotes forest recreation grounds, which adjoin to water lands. The

model was entirely developed with Dreamweaver MX 2004 and aims to combine all the desirale charac-

teristics of content with the desirable traits of a well designed website. Finally a simulated model website,

about the forest recreation ground in Thermi’s dam near the city of Thessaloniki in the region of Mace-

donia-Greece, was developed in order to test and demonstrate the extent of usability, navigability and ac-

cessibility of the intended model

Keywords: Internet, website, forest recreation ground, wetlands, framework, regional development,

Dynamic modelling, simulation based design

1. Introduction

Although Greece is usually recognized worldwide from islands, sea, blue skies and small

white houses, winter tourism, agro tourism, sport tourism and religion tourism are some of the

new alternatives, since Greece is a land of inexhaustible beauty all year round (Andreopoulou et

al, 2007b). Greece offers a lot of natural beauties including remarkable and unique forestlands.

For the last few years, there has been an effort aiming in the nomination of these natural beau-

ties, within the development of the forest recreation grounds and the improvement of general in-

frastructure (Andreopoulou et al, 2007a)

A serious number of forest recreation grounds have been founded near major Greek cities,

utilizing many suburban forests. Development projects for suburban forestlands have to be

planned and distributed with the proper environmental and social criteria in order to contribute

in the social and financial development of the population (Theocharopoulos, 2000). Attention

should also be paid to the protection of the natural environment and the conservation of the

local ecosystems during the tourist development of an area. Furthermore, forest recreational

grounds near wetlands are becoming very popular nowadays because of the great amount of ac-

tivities, which are usually available such as fishing, sightseeing, water sports etc (Karameris,

2003). Provenly, these areas, especially the suburban ones, attract a significant amount of

visitors, mainly city residents.

Web technology, the Internet and all kinds of intranets along with web-based projects are

emerging in a fast pace in our society and a huge amount of information move across the WWW

worldwide (Anreopoulou, 2009). Lately, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

have a key role in all aspects of life, as ICTs applies to many issues of modern life and supplies

information practically and simply (Lin and Lu, 2000; Andreopoulou, 2007). As the World

Wide Web became prevalent around the globe, more travellers used the Internet as a medium

for searching tourism information and planning their trips (Zhou and De Santis, 2005). Tourism

websites play an indispensable role in people’s travelling decision-making before their depar-

ture (Pan B, 2003).

The Internet acts as the provider of numerous- yet continuously increasing and renewable-

services and knowledge through the World Wide Web (WWW) that constitutes an open society

of servers and users on the Internet (Marquis, 2002). A lot of information can be diffused all

over the world and inform wide audiences.

Moreover, e-services should be used as an important component in achieving sustainable

development in rural areas and should be encouraged (EU 2007). ICT applications offer new

opportunities for enhanced provided services in sustainable development, protection of the envi-

ronment as well as economy, education, society and culture. These applications may assist peo-

ple realize environmental issues and policy suggestions as it ensures that environmental knowl-

edge is diffused to a wider audience (Vassiliadou et al, 2006). Internet is an exceptionally

dynamic environment, continually developing and as it has become a major resource in modern

way of life, many entities have already created their web presence (Andreopoulou, 2007).

Internet is a means of communication able to communicate messages to the public, and that

specific characteristic of Internet to also act as a means for advertisement is due to its interac-

tivity (Vlachopoulou, 2007).

1.1 Using the internet for forest recreation promotion

Within that framework, the Internet can play a key role within the identification of regions in

wide audience worldwide (Papastavrou et al, 2005). Moreover, the promotion of local advan-

tages, such as the enhanced natural environment of a region can also be the means to identify

the region as a tourism destination for various target groups (Andreopoulou et al, 2006). The

promotion of forest recreation grounds can be achieved adequately through practical applica-

tions within the internet such as websites that contain the related information or dynamic “green

portals” in a wider aspect (Athanasiadis, 2007).

According to recent researches (Athanasiadis and Andreopoulou, 2008) only 37 Greek web-

portals of such content were traced on the web. This fact reveals the serious lack of similar

Greek websites; whilst the biggest amount of environmental websites that promote forest rec-

reation grounds were located as individual chapters of local web portals. This survey was ac-

complished among the most important search engines, using suitable key-words, in order to reg-

ister study and categorize the most significant Greek web-portals that promote forest recreation

grounds near wet lands.

Figure 1: Classification of Greek environmental websites by the kind of wetlands

Figure 1, indicates that 24% of the results are related to recreation grounds near rivers, 17%

near lakes since the biggest amount (38%) concerns environmental web-portals of general inter-

est with significant references to forest recreation. Moreover, almost half of the websites are

managed by public authorities (municipalities, prefectures etc) and another 30% belong to pri-

vate tourism enterprises as it is presented in Figure 2. In regard of the content, most of the web-

sites host photo galleries, tourism information, advertisements and general environmental in-

formation about the region.

This paper aims in the exploitation of the potential of the Information and Communication

Technologies (ICTs), through the World Wide Web, as a means for regional development, espe-

cially through the identification of a region as a tourism destination.

Figure 2: Classification of Greek environmental websites by administrator-owner

The adoption of using the internet as a strategy of announcing the way that can be achieved a

tourist sustainable development at forest recreation grounds near water lands, is the best way to

advertise it, as on parallel it sustains local commercial and tourism activities in order to promote

local natural resources historic and cultural landscapes, various traditional and artistic products

(Lefakis et al, 2007).

The purpose of this paper is to bring forward a model-website environment for promotion of

the natural environment of a certain forest recreational ground related to water, within a modern

and friendly-structured framework. This can be a recreation ground near a water spring, a lake, a

river, an artificial dam etc. That particular model also intends in presenting the social effective-

ness of the recreation ground towards the local population and the region-society in general. The

built up of such a website was the spine of this research in order to achieve the best way of

promoting a tourist development of the area using the philosophy of sustainable “multi-use”

forestry and respect the native landscape.

2. Methods and material

A specialized HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) editor like Macromedia Dream-

weaver™ is required in order to create a web-based application. The model-website was entirely

developed with Dreamweaver MX 2004, which is a Graphical User Interface-GUI program that

also allows code and script writing (Page, 2005). The interface of the program is presented in

Figure 3.

The necessary material for the development of the model such as texts, pictures, animation

and maps, has to be elaborated using various software programs, such as a text editor-MS Word,

an image processing software -Adobe Photoshop-, a graphic designer –Macromedia Flash- and

a computer-aided design software -AutoCAD 2007 correspondingly.

Figure 3: Dreamweaver’s interface

As far as the technical analysis regarding the implementation of the project, the basic frame-

work of the website was the first initial concern. The structure of the website was decided and

the quantity and content of the individual web pages were designed within the basic framework

(graphic 1, figure 5) in a Graphical User Interface of Dreamweaver. Code and script writing

(HTML, CSS, java) were also used in order to create special features, that provide a user-

friendly structure and ensure usability and simple navigation through the website, such as navi-

gation bars, drop down menu, scroll bars, hyperlinks, flash objects etc. The main content such

as information, images, graphics and videos come as a result of personal research and process-

ing of the necessary data.

It may have a plain and friendly structure while the release of data is consecutive, since it

addresses to a range of end-users, not all of them computer literate (De Marsico and Levialdi,

2004; Farkas and Farkas, 2001). This model aims to combine all the desirable characteristics of

content with the desirable traits of a well designed website, such as the aesthetics, the function-

alism, the easy navigation, the ergonomics and the short download time for each page (Lynch

and Horton, 1999). It is important that all the applications, requested by the target audience,

should be incorporated while designing the conceptual framework of the website (Andreopou-

lou, 2008).

Special attention was also paid to the design of the user’s interface for the application. The

web environment that was designed and implemented has an interactive character, since the user

through successive dialogs and selection approaches the desirable information. The amount of

data put on each page is kept to a minimum rate, supporting the opening of each page in a short

time and allowing users with slow internet connections to a comfortable browsing (Marquis,

2002).

Generally, there was an effort that the proposed model achieves sufficiently usability of the

user’s interface which refers to the fluency or ease with which a user is able to interact with a

system in a simple way (Sutcliffe, 2002). Usability Engineering (EU) is a discipline that is con-

cerned with the question of how to design software that is easy to use (Nebe and Zimmermann

2007). EU serves as a framework to ensure consistency compatibility, exchangeability and qual-

ity. An example for such standards is the DIN EN ISO 13407, which introduces a process

framework for the human-centred design of interactive systems. Its overarching aim is to sup-

port the definition and the management of human-centred design activities. This is in line with

the definition of usability offered by the International Organization for Standardization, which

is: ‘‘the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which specified users achieve specified

goals in particular environments’’ (Hillier, 2003)

Finally, a simulated model website was developed in order to test and demonstrate the extent

of usability, navigability and accessibility of the intended model. The model website described

is related to the forest recreational ground of the dam of “Thermi” in the region of Thessalonica,

in Northern Greece. This website called “tofragmatisthermis.gr” presents and analyzes the so-

cial, environmental and cultural offer of this recreation ground to the local society. The main

content of the website contains data received by Thermi’s municipality services, though great

amount of data derives from personal research and searching through the web.

3. Results

The model’s framework contains several individual web pages classified in specific thematic

unities as it intends to provide reliable information about the available tourist and recreational

activities, the cultural events, the natural history and the natural resources of the area. A schema

of the website’s structure is registered in graphic 1, starting from the introduction page of the

project and moving on to the procedure according to the users implementations. Areas in light

blue colour correspond to the web pages of the application while those in light green colour cor-

respond to thematic unities.

Graphic 1: The model’s framework

The introduction page, which is the index page of the web site, as it is presented in Figure 4,

welcomes the user in a friendly way, presenting a flash animation or a picture of the area and a

welcome message. It also informs users about the identity of the website (owner, administrator)

and has a main title that sufficiently describes its content whereas appropriate illustrations pre-

pare the visitor for what to expect from this application.

Introduction page

Main page English page

Water land

Culture Environment

Multimedia About the area

Communication form

Recreation

History

Activities

Accessibility

Tourism

Sitemap

Climate & Soil

Flora

Fauna

Historical data

General info

Events

News

Photos

Videos

Figure 4: Introduction page of the website “tofragmatisthermis.gr”

The home page is appropriately designed to facilitate potential users to easily find the needed

information and study the material and also to be different from the other pages (Lynch and

Horton, 1999; Nielsen, 2000). Figure 5 introduces the home page of the website “tofragmatis-

thermis.gr” which is an application based on the intended model. There is a fixed formation of

each page with 3 individual design areas. The selections of the user are presented in the upper

frame, which is the varying area and contains a drop down menu. The main area of the web

page includes the majority of the information and the right column that is the third area is the

secondary varying area with links to other web pages of the website.

The rest of the web pages have a similar form. There is also an English page aiming to in-

crease the target audience worldwide. Further, there are several coloured pictures in a photo gal-

lery type (Figure 6), with medium size texts, aiming mainly to inform the visitor and stress on

the natural beauty of the area, the cultural events and generally the available activities of the

recreation ground. The user can choose a category from a drop down menu and then select the

desirable picture he wants to enlarge among the thumbnails provided. A video gallery that offers

some clips for download about the area is also suggested. Finally, there is a well-designed

communication form using web-polls and questionnaires aiming in interaction with users.

Figure 5: Home page

Figure 6: Photo Gallery

In general the model website contains the following data of content:

• Characteristic web pages (introduction page, home page, English page etc)

• Environmental information (flora, fauna, natural ecosystems etc)

• Cultural information (events, news etc)

• Tourist information (activities, sports etc)

• Exclusive information about the wetland

• Adequate information about the website (web designer, updates, diary, suggested analysis)

• Navigation assistance (site map)

• Hyperlinks

• Communication info

• General information about the region (History, maps, guidelines)

• Photo and video Gallery

4. Discussion and conclusions

The whole project emphasizes in the diffusion of rich and reliable information, aiming at

user-friendly structure that attracts the visitor. The main advantage of the website is the fast and

easy updating of site contents that allows the web administrator to supply users with the latest

comparative information about the forest recreation ground. The model is appropriately de-

signed to facilitate potential users to easily find the needed information and study the material.

Moreover, the capability of data gathering by the use of web-polls and questionnaires combines

a special interface between the website and the user.

Municipalities of Greece can use this model as it assembles all the desirable characteristics

of content. A website based on the proposed model could be exploited as an independent web-

site or as a chapter placed among a web portal. It could also be modified properly to a complete

multimedia application (CD-ROM) useful for commercial and educational purposes.

Such a model could be an efficient mean of promoting local sights or places of multiple ac-

tivities near wetlands, with environmental and recreational interest, in a simple and reliable way.

These areas can include rivers, lakes, natural springs and places near wetlands in general. It is

also possible to create a website based on the proposed model in order to present and promote

not only wetlands but other places of interest as well. However, here has to be a fair modifica-

tion of the framework and a proper selection and release of the relevant data.

The adoption of using the internet as a strategy of announcing the way that can be achieved a

tourist sustainable development at forest recreation grounds near water lands, is the best way to

advertise it, as on parallel it sustains local commercial and tourism activities in order to promote

local natural resources historic and cultural landscapes, various traditional and artistic products

(Andreopoulou et al., 2007b). Therefore, a website in the Internet with all the information that

are needed can be the underlying basis of Greece's sustainable, programmed and implemented

future for developing forested areas and definitely forest recreation grounds (Athanasiadis and

Andreopoulou, 2008).

Finally, the model that was developed has applied for the web portal of municipality of

Thermi of Thessaloniki’s prefecture, where the existing website site does not currently contain a

link to such a green portal as the one proposed above. Currently it is hosted in the web in the

following Url http://users.auth.gr/~antatha.

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Πρότυπο Ιστοχώρου περιβαλλοντικού περιεχοµένου, για την προβολή

χώρων δασικής αναψυχής σε υγρότοπους στην Ελλάδα

Athanasiadis Antonios, Andreopoulou Zacharoula

Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήµιο Θεσσαλονίκης, Σχολή ∆ασολογίας και Φυσικού Περιβάλλο-

ντος, Εργαστήριο ∆ασικής Πληροφορικής, ΤΘ 247, 54124 Θεσσαλονίκη,

τηλ. 2310.992714, 2310.992327/fax. 2310.992717,

E-Mail: antatha@for.auth.gr, randreop@for.auth.gr

Περίληψη

Τα τελευταία χρόνια οι χώροι δασικής ααψυχής στην Ελλάδα καθίστανται ιδιαίτερα δηµοφιλείς.

Ειδικότερα, σηµαντικό ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζουν όσοι βρίσκονται πλησίον υγροτόπων, κυρίως λόγω

των δραστηριοτήτων που προσφέρουν σε σχέση µε το γρό στοιχείο. Οι τεχνολογίες ∆ιαδικτύου και οι

αφαρµογές τους παρέχουν έναν τεράστιο όγκο πληροφορίας για κάθε τοµέα επιστηµών. Μέσα σε αυτό το

πλαίσιο, η προβολή χώρων δασικής αναψυχής µπορεί να ενισχυθεί µέσα από τη δηµιουργία και ανάδιξη

σχετικών ιστοχώρων. Σήµερα παρατηρείται ένα έλλειµµα περιβαλλοντικών και φιλοδασικών διαδικτυα-

κών πυλών στην Ελλάδα. Η εργασία προτείνει ένα πρότυπο ιστοχώρου , µε έµφαση στο περιεχόµενο

καιστη δοµή, που στοχεύει στην όσο το δυνατόν πληρέστερη και αποτελεσµατικότερη προβολή χώρων

δασικής αναψυχής που τοποθετούνται πλησίον υγροτόπων. Το µοντέλο σχεδιάστηκε και αναπτύχθηκε µε

χρήση του λογισµικού Dreamweaver MX 2004 και αποσκοπεί στο να συνδυάσει όλα τα απαιτούµενα χα-

ρακτηριστικά περιεχοµένου και την απαραίτητη επιθυµητή δοµή που οφείλει να διαθέτει ένας πλήρης και

εύχρηστος ιστοχώρος. Τέλος, έγινε πρακτική εφαρµογή του µοντέλου που προτείνεται, µε την κατασκευή

ενός ιστοχώρου για το χώρο δασικής αναψυχής στο φράγµα της Θέρµης Θεσσαλονίκης.

Λέξεις κλειδιά: διαδίκτυο, ιστοχώρος, δασική αναψυχή, υγρότοποι, µοντέλο, πρότυπο, τοπική ανά-

πτυξη