Sacred natural sites (SNS) are found all over the world. They are thought to play an important role in conservation but until recently there was little systematic investigation of this claim. Now, new research published in the journal Biological Conservation by an international and multidisciplinary team, led by the University of Ioannina and including Bangor University, has shown that there is a notable conservation benefit to SNS. The researchers of the project, known as THALIS-SAGE, chose for their study the region of Epirus, in north-western Greece, that is host to numerous sacred groves protected through religion for hundreds of years.