On Wednesday 15th January 2014 ninety students accompanied by their teachers, participated in a tree planting event at Xrobb l-Għaġin Nature Park and Sustainable Development Centre. The event was organized by Nature Trust Malta through its LEAF (Learning About Forests) programme in collaboration with PARKs and the Plant Health directorates within the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change. The initiative is part of a worldwide campaign organised by ENO- Environment Online- which is a global virtual school network for sustainable development. ENO made a strong commitment in Rio+20 Summit of planting 100 million trees by 2017.
All schools planted a specific type of indigenous palm tree called Siġra tal-Ġummar. A number of trees were sponsored by BOV. Minister Leo Brincat was also present for the occasion. When questioned by a number of young reporters about the importance of such a prestigious event, he answered that he considered it as very important one since the lively participation of the students attending makes it more effective as they are more likely to pass on the message.
The event ended with a number of interactive learning sessions were students learned about the problem pests can cause to the environment, how to grow dwarf fan palms, the different types of trees we can find at the Nature Park and what people used to do with palm leaves. One of the sessions was led by the renowned founder of Nature Trust Malta, Mr Guido Lanfranco.
