News

Litterless launch – Phase V

posted on November 15, 2022

Rehabilitated loggerhead turtle released in the wild   A loggerhead turtle has been released back into the wild following a period of rehabilitation at Forti San Luċjan. The loggerhead turtle, rescued back in December 2021, was released this morning at Golden Bay after a successful 10-month rehabilitation process.   The 5-year-old turtle had been in the care of the Team Rehabilitation Unit since last December, having been rescued in Gozo. The turtle was found with hooks and ingested nylon, and a swollen flipper due to having been entangled in nylon. It was rescued and cared for by Nature Trust (Malta) – the Wildlife rehabilitation team. An agreement is currently in place between NTM and the Environment and Resources Authority, which provides financial aid for the conservation of protected fauna (excluding birds). Such agreement covers the purchase of medicines, consumables and equipment required for the rehabilitation of injured, sick or stranded fauna as well as, provides finances for veterinary assistance for the care of such specimens during weekends and public holidays.   The turtle, named Net by volunteers, was released in the presence of Environment Minister Miriam Dalli, officials from the Environment and Resources Authority and students from the Young Reporters from the Environment (YRE). The Minister thanked the volunteers who help with the cleaning, medication and feeding of the turtles.   The turtle was also under the medical observation of veterinary surgeon Dr Anthony Gruppetta of St Simon’s Veterinary Practice in Mosta.   The accompanying students are currently taking part in the YRE – Litter Less campaign, run by the Foundation for Environmental Education and Nature Trust Malta. To mark the turtle’s release, educational activities were held for students including a photo scavenger hunt.   An average of 50 marine turtles are rescued every year in the Maltese waters. At the moment, eight other turtles are still undergoing treatment.     Editorial information   The WildLife Rescue Team is a dedicated team of 30 volunteers working on the turtle rehabilitation, all covered by ERA permits to handle protected animals, and are on call on a 24/7 basis. Marine turtles are also protected in the Maltese Islands by ERA.  Nature Trust Wildlife Rescue section microchips all turtles before they are released. This is a normal practice in all rehab centres in the Mediterranean.   Nature Trust Malta thanks the Armed Forces of Malta. The Malta Aquaculture Research Centre, the MTA, ERA, Dr A Grupetta, fishermen, NTM staff, schools and members of the public for their ongoing support. Special thanks goes also to HSBC Malta Foundation and Zero Waste Future for their support to the Litterless campaign.   Thanks goes to the corporate sponsors of NTM Lottoland   YRE (www.yremalta.org) is a programme designed specifically for students. The main aim is to carry out investigations on local environmental issues and report through investigative reporting and photojournalism.  The goal of YRE is to engage youth in environmental issues.   Over 3.6 million students from more than 6000 schools across the world have participated in...

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YRE Awards 2022

posted on November 15, 2022

An awards ceremony was held at St Benedict College Kirkop Secondary School on the 2nd June.  The National Coordinator, Ms Audrey Gauci, highlighted the achievements of this year, and launched the participation of Malta in the Litterless Campaign Phase V.  The only 4 countries selected from the YRE network were China, New Zealand, India and Malta.  Malta is once again very proud to be among the selected few. More details on the running of the campaign will be announced in the beginning of the next scholastic year.   The following are this year’s winners, with a selection of shortlisted entries for the international jury.     Best Campaign Photo – Shortlisted St Nicholas College, Dingli Primary School: Watch Your Steps! – Ruby Mifsud & Zack Abela Medici   Animals and insects need our help, especially bees and snails. They need our awareness and our protection. The most important thing to do is to be careful where to step. The worst thing to do is to not take notice and act like nothing is going on around you. The world needs our help and we have to do something. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work and that means we have to work together to save the world. Take a small step to save the world by first helping the living things around you. https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-62   Best Reportage Photo   Gozo College Middle School: Save the species! – Martha Sultana   We, as the people of the planet, are responsible of making Earth a home. Humans are capable of the impossible but what’s possible for the little creatures that wander through the earth? Pollution and habitat damage that we created is posing danger for these unique creatures. Hedgehogs are decreasing because they can get hit by cars, get entangled in litter or simply because their natural habitat is shrinking to satisfy our greed. With a little extra effort, we can all live in harmony. The photo, which shows an Algerian hedgehog, the only species of hedgehog in the Maltese islands, was taken in my family’s field. Hedgehogs are threatened by the destruction of the countryside as well as using insecticides which accumulates in its body after eating poisoned insects and other invertebrates. The Algerian hedgehog is protected by Maltese law and it is illegal to kill or keep hedgehogs, however, this does not protect it from cars, pesticides and habitat destruction. Approximately 500 hedgehogs are rescued per year by the wildlife volunteers within the NGO Nature Trust FEE Malta. https://yrecompetition.exposure.co/malta-67     Best Series of Photos – Shortlisted   Gozo College Middle School: Loss of Natural Habitat – Emma Lynn Cauchi   Photos show contrasting realities of wildlife living in their natural habitat with a growing concern that these must adapt to new surroundings which are often overwhelmed with human progress and urban sprawl.   Photo 1: The spreading of urban developments destroying wildlife habitats. ‘Malta’s construction industry is continuing to grow at a rapid rate despite concerns over rampant abuse and...

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YRE 2021 – 2022

posted on February 1, 2022

                          Below are a list of prizes and incentives offered to the best entries for scholastic year 2021-2022.  Reference to the different criteria can be found here.  Deadline for submission of entries is 15th March 2022 for Climate Change entries and 30th April 2022 for other themes . The different age categories for articles, photos and videos are:-...

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YRE during Covid

posted on February 1, 2022

Notwithstanding the pandemic, the YRE programme kept up and running at its usual pace, with record number of entries both for 2020 and 2021.  Workshops can be held online or in person (observing bubble rules), and investigations can be done online.  Publications, raising awareness, taking a stand...

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School workshops

posted on February 12, 2019

Various schools are participating in YRE workshops, gaining more insight on reporting techniques and practicing their photography, videography and writing skills.  Particular demand is on litter as part of the litter less campaign, but themes vary. For booking of workshops contact Audrey Gauci on [email protected]....

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Nature Trust FEE Malta launches the Plastic Litter Campaign

posted on February 12, 2019

13  November 2018   Nature Trust – FEE Malta released three logger head turtles at Gnejna Bay as part of its campaign to raise awareness on the problems caused by single use plastics and micro-plastics in our seas. Together with The HSBC Malta Foundation an educational event was organised on one of Malta’s stunning coastal sites, Gnejna Bay.  The turtles were released in the presence of 130 students who are presently participating in the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – Litter Less campaign, run by FEE and represented locally by Nature Trust FEE Malta. During the event the three turtles Gabriel, Victoria and Stef were released after being taken care of by Volunteers of Nature Trust Wildlife Rescue section at San Lucjan Centre.  Most of these suffered plastic or marine debris ingestion with Stef being found entangled in a net of which she had also ingested part.  This had to be removed under surgery by the Wildlife Rescue Vet Dr A Grupetta. The event included a clean-up, sand sifting with strainers to recuperate small waste, and several educational workshops for students ranging from information on the effects of litter on marine life to the invaluable work done by the rescue team. YRE students were also engaged in a photography session to send strong messages to the public on how and why we should reduce litter.  Workshops were manned by Wildlife Rescue Team, MTA, WasteServ, AFM, ERA and Zibel amongst others. Through this event the NGO wanted to raise awareness on the harm done by plastics in our marine ecology.  Such debris is also today ending up affecting human health. The students were able to understand the enormity of the problem and what each had to do to mitigate the problem. Nature Trust FEE Malta will be ongoing with this campaign throughout 2019 through its educational and conservation campaigns where it will also coordinate with other Blue Flag operators around the Mediterranean and Black sea regional cleanup campaign during July 2019. Nature Trust Malta thanks the Armed Forces of Malta. The Malta Aquaculture Research Centre, the MTA, ERA, Dr A Grupetta, fishermen, NTM staff, schools and members of the public for their ongoing support.  ...

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25 videos for 25 years of YRE…

posted on September 27, 2018

https://yremalta.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/25-videos-for-25-years-of-yre.pdf-1.docx NB..flash news on a new opportunity for Young Reporters….to mark 25 years of YRE.  If you need help with filming and editing let us know – let’s be part of this!...

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Action Planet

posted on February 12, 2018

Action Planet is a nationwide project that unites people from all walks of life to find simple and effective ways to improve our environment, health and wellbeing. By honestly looking at how our daily lifestyle choices are impacting our environment we are able to find simple yet effective solutions. Action Planet brings together schools, outreach organisations, higher education institutes, NGOs, organisations, artists and government ministries in one project. Through research, media projects, focus groups, and speaker events we are finding creative ways of working together to find solutions to issues impacting Malta’s sustainability. The intention is to empower people with simple tools that can help to make lasting change.. Our student led exhibition, from February 17th – March 18th 2018, showcases art installations, photographs and media projects created by students from MCAST, the University of Malta, schools, Inspire and the Malta Sound Women’s network. The exhibition forms part of the Spazju Kreattiv season programme and is endorsed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. YRE Malta will be actively participating in the Action Planet exhibition with Articles, Photos and Videos...

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Clean ups by schools

posted on December 16, 2017

Litter less schools are feeling committed to give their contribution for a less littered Malta.  Gozo schools – Middle school and Sixth Form, and Maria Regina College Secondary school Mosta have participated in two separate clean ups organised by Action Planet.  Both went to local valleys and cleared the litter found…hoping to leave a cleaner environment for all. Thanks goes to Get Trashed Malta and Action Planet for the initiative!  ...

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Litter less campaign launch

posted on December 6, 2017

29th November 2017   Over thirty young reporters have this morning witnessed the release of 2 loggerhead turtles during the launch ceremony of the Litter Less Campaign at Golden Bay. Malta officially joins the international campaign through the YRE (Young Reporters for the Environment) programme run by Nature Trust – FEE Malta. Present for the ceremony was Mr Vincent Attard – Nature Trust-FEE Malta Executive President and also Hon. Jose Herrera – Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change who distributed a number of grants to the selected schools in order to complete their campaigns. Workshop sessions about marine litter, the delicate sand dune ecosystems and the alignment of the campaign to the United Nations- SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) were held on the sandy beach. The Litter Less Campaign (http://www.yre.global/litter-less-campaign) is a joint initiative of the Wrigley Company Foundation and FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) and is implemented in schools running the Eco-Schools, LEAF (Learning About Forests) and/or YRE programmes. The Campaign aims to engage and educate young people on the issue of litter and encourage them to make positive choices. Young journalists are encouraged to carry out investigations on local environmental issues and report through investigative reporting and photojournalism.   Participating schools will be able to network with students from the 10 participating countries and produce joint projects. Schools may be assisted through in house workshops to produce articles, videos and photos addressing key litter issues. They are also urged to organise a Community Action Day to reach out to the wider school community and to further promote their campaigns through local media. Exhibits showcasing the students’ work will be put up at St James Cavalier for viewing by the local public during a month long exhibition organised by Action Planet. Apart from the funding received to complete their campaigns, local schools will also be competing with their international counterparts for international prizes.   The event was supported by Majjistral Nature and History Park, Gaia Foundation, Din l-Art Helwa, the Scout Association of Malta, WasteServ, Malta Tourism Authority and Nectar Limited.   For further information contact Ms Audrey Gauci (YRE National Coordinator) on 79295424 or [email protected]. More photos on our fb page...

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