Prespa, a Crossroads Place

The environmentalist and author, Julian Hoffman, is giving an illustrated talk about the Prespa Lakes region in Northwest Greece

The region of the Prespa Lakes, in the northwest corner of Greece, remains relatively unknown to many Greeks, let alone others. It’s a place that is defined by crossroads: where three countries meet around two lakes; where Mediterranean ecosystems and species meet their Central European relatives; where limestone meets granite, such that wildlife communities that prefer to dwell on one geological substrate rather than on the other can co-exist in the same place; where different languages, ethnicities and religions are found around the shared waters; and where a recent study revealed that at least 51 individual brown bears live in the basin and cross the invisible mountain borders between countries.

We are delighted that the environmentalist and author, Julian Hoffman, has agreed to talk to us about the Prespa Lakes. Julian’s illustrated talk will focus on the lakes’ ecological significance and on environmental issues, the work of ecologists and the local community in protecting that abundance, and the transboundary complexity of the region. Julian will take Q&A after the talk. A wine reception will follow.

Julian Hoffman is the author of two books. His latest, Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save our Wild Places, was the Highly Commended Finalist for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation 2020 and a Royal Geographical Society ‘Book of the Year.’ His previous book, The Small Heart of Things, won the 2012 AWP Award for Creative Nonfiction, described by the judge, Terry Tempest Williams, as a ‘tapestry of embodied stories that explores a complexity of ideas’. The book went on to win a 2014 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature. Julian has lived in a mountain village above the Prespa Lakes in northern Greece for over twenty years and is a passionate naturalist and conservationist as well as an author.

This event is open to members of the League, to supporters on our mailing-list and to members of the public at large. Entry is free, but prior registration is required. The event will not be livestreamed or recorded

Event organised by the Anglo-Hellenic League.