Introduction
Browse the Anthemis digital herbarium here: https://anthemis.archipelagonetwork.org/
Anthemis is a digital herbarium documenting plant biodiversity on Syros island, which aims to be a community engaging educational platform motivating discussion on citizen-built ecological archives, how technology can aid in their creation and how human and plant societies evolve in interaction with one another.
The herbarium employs the method of photo-quadrats to archive multiple flora matrices from seven initial locations which hold specific importance as points of contact between the parallel histories of human and plant communities on the island. Each photo-quadrat is accompanied by precise geolocation and meteorological data, making it possible to revisit the same location for future comparative reference. The digital herbarium deploys portraits of botanical communities as frames for species-specific information, location history information, and related audiovisual archives sourced from private collections on Syros.
The project includes a toolkit which enables data collection, and a digital platform where the collected data and archives concerning the island’s flora are gathered and shared. The toolkit is contained within a custom-made hiking backpack, and includes a photographic quadrat, a weather-proof video camera, and a specially designed data collection station which makes use of a microcomputer produced on Syros. The digital platform proposes an archival system based on geolocation and plant photo quadrat analysis that also empowers the narratives embedded in each location, whether they are personal or collective in nature.
The seven locations initially chosen in order to start building the platform and provide reference examples for future users on how to contribute to the platform are Panavlies, Aerolithos, Grammata, Pagos, Lazareto, Kyperousa and Pherecydes’s Cave. These locations were chosen as places that illustrate how the parallel lives of plant and human societies on the island are in close contact. They include locations on the island’s protected northern side, rich in biodiversity and local lore, as well as the valley of Pagos, the main site of greenhouse crop production, and Hermoupolis, the island’s main port and capital.
Credits
Concept, Realization: Hypercomf, Archipelago Network
Toolkit: Hypercomf, Kudzu Technologies, Adamantia Alexopoulou
Research Support: Nikos Kailis, Kostas Katagas
Production: Jacob Moe, Eleanna Papathanasiadi
Web Design: Hypercomf
Web Development: Double Dot
Browse the Anthemis digital herbarium here: https://anthemis.archipelagonetwork.org/
