Clean up at il-Ballut - 18th Sept.

We're holding another clean-up at il-Ballut, Marsaxlokk this Sunday 18th September. Once again this is organised in collaboration with our friends from Scubed! Il-Ballut is a Natura2000 site, very much in need of some TLC.

Please come along and bring your friends. We are meeting at 16:30 near the Marsaxlokk parish church.

Together we can really make a difference both to the place and also to the way our society views its rural areas.

A positive change towards active citizenship

This is an Article by Joseph Caruana (Greenhouse Executive) that was original published on The Malta Independent Environment Supplement on the 17th of April regarding the clean-ups organised by Greenhouse and S-Cubed.

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Very often we go about our daily lives pretty happy with our routines and surroundings – an inevitable reality which frequently leaves us unaware of what is not always clearly visible. The initiative set up by the Science Students’ Society (S-Cubed) and Greenhouse to organise several clean-ups around the island throughout this year was precisely intended to combat this general mentality. The main aim of the campaign was to spread awareness about our environment and its importance, both from an ecological as well as an anthropological perspective. It is for this reason that the two University student organisations decided to collaborate and organise these activities. Given that the target audience was mainly (but not restricted to) University students, the activities all featured an explanation on the environmental significance of the sites visited.

The first clean-up, for example, which was organised in an area known as Il-Ballut in the limits of Marsaxlokk (which is incidentally a Natura 2000 site) included a generic, yet very insightful introduction provided by Dr. Sandro Lanfranco, a lecturer in Plant Biology on Campus. Teamwork then characterised the rest of the activity where a whole skip was filled to the brim with all kinds of waste which previously littered the area. The second event focused on L-Ahrax in Mellieha close to l-Irdum tal-Madonna.

The Conservation and Ecological Value of the Site

L-Irdum tal-Madonna, located at the extremity of l-Ahrax tal-Mellieha is also a Natura 2000 site, protected as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EC’s Birds Directive, as well as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the Habitats Directive. It is also considered an Important Bird Area (IBA) and was the main site of the EU LIFE+ Yelkouan Shearwater Project, an initiative headed by BirdLife Malta in association with two other NGOs and four government authorities, aimed at reversing the decline in the Yelkouan Shearwater population of Rdum tal-Madonna and to improve the Natura 2000 site. Malta hosts an estimated 10% of the global population of Yelkouan Shearwater, with over 500 pairs breeding in the cliffs at Rdum tal-Madonna. Rats present in the area feed on the eggs and chicks of this bird and, consequently, are a threat to the population.

Understanding the problem and volunteering a solution

S-cubed and Greenhouse joint clean-up directly addresses this problem by removing waste which attracts rats to the area. This was achieved by a group of 21 volunteers who collected around 30 large garbage bags of litter. This waste largely consisted of recreational waste as the L-ahrax Tal-Mellieha is a very popular site for Maltese people to visit in the weekend and public holidays. This explains the problem of rat populations in this area as these feed on picnic leftovers and subsequently on birds nests. It is always a matter of concern for us to see that people do not respect these public spaces and unknowingly cause considerable damage to the ecology of these sites. The waste collected ranged also to construction waste which is easily disposed of in these public spaces.

To counter these practises we must start to act on them and start reporting illegal dumping in the countryside. A lot of effort has already been put in this and the authorities are slowly mobilising their resources to assist in the cleaning up of these areas. But, what ultimately matters is that through education our culture of indifference changes and that whenever someone acts irresponsibly action is taken to report the incident. If we want the environment to be protected and safeguarded its important to make sure that we are strong in enforcing its protection.

S-cubed - http://www.scubed.info/

Greenhouse Malta - http://www.greenhousemalta.com/

Clean-up at L-Aħrax (Environment Fair Part 1)

Joseph Caruana (Greenhouse)

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Environment Fair started off pretty early for Greenhouse: our members and friends, together with S-Cubed, started the week with an 'against all odds' clean-up at L-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa. This activity sought to assist Birdlife Malta address the challenges that the rodent population poses on the Yelkouan Shearwater, a bird species which Malta is estimated to host 10% of its breeding population!! So what's up with the clean-up idea?

The team posing with the rubbish collected

It was the second of a series of such activities that we are organising in conjunction with the Science Student Society. Through these clean-ups we seek to (A) Promote sites of Ecological Importance [Previous site: Tal-Ballut] and (B) acting hands-on for a just cause.

Plenty of people attended the clean-up, despite the very bad weather and luckily for all of us the weather in Mellieha remained calm until we disbanded later in the day. Furthermore, we were given a presentation by Birdlife volunteer Nicholas Barbara on the Life+ project which they conducted on the site to protect the area and the bird species which make use of this area.

The activity progressed with the clean-up activity which accumulated mainly packaging waste.... some construction waste... and also metal junk. For both myself and my friends it's always impressive when taking part in these activities to see with one's own eyes how irresponsible we may tend to act just because we are either lazy or completely ignorant of what harm we are causing to these sites.

Nick Barbara (Birdlife) telling us about the Life+ project carried out at L-Aħrax

The activity finalised we all rallied to a bar in Mellieha frequented by the locals to share some drinks and get to know each other a bit better than the clean up could have permitted. A pint of beer anyone?

L-Aħrax Tal-Mellieħa, Cleanup & Tour of Yelkouan Shearwater (garnija) Conservation Site...

...on Sunday 20th March at L-Aħrax Tal-Mellieħa (Cross on the Map)

Event Desciption:
"After the success of S-cubed & Greenhouse’s last Clean up at tal-Ballut, we are organising another clean-up, this time at Ahrax in Mellieha together with Birdlife Malta. We feel that most effective way of raising awareness is by hands on experience. During clean-ups students see for themselves the state at which certain areas are and are given the opportunity to make a small difference. Moreover it helps people come to terms with the negative impact mankind has on the environment.

The site for this clean-up is a Natura 2000 site which is being managed by Birdlife Malta who are carrying out a conservation project on the Yelkouan Shearwater that breeds on the cliffs. We will be collaborating with Birdlife Malta as the clean-up will be part of a rat eradication project that shall be aimed to reduce predation on the Shearwater chicks and eggs.

Following the clean-up, we will also be given a tour of the Yelkouan Shearwater conservation site by members of Birdlife."

Hope to see you there! (See poster below for more details)

Article - Seabed Clean up at il-Foss

Follow up article on the Seabed Clean up organised by Greenhouse Malta and Watercolours Dive School extracted from the Independent. Pictures taken by the volunteers.

The sea and the seabed is part of mankind’s collective heritage. Michael Carabott takes part in a seabed cleanup and explains how diving changed his outlook and awareness of the environment underwater

As soon as my mates Jason (Chubbie) and Patrick asked if I would help take part in an underwater cleanup of the Foss dive site in Valletta, I immediately accepted.

Jason and Patrick run the Watercolours Dive Centre, which has a school in Sliema and another in Valletta. It was a few years ago that I began to dive and these two fellows were my instructors.

The cleanup was scheduled for a Saturday morning, but the weather was absolutely savage. There were high winds and the island was lashed by storms the night before. It would have to wait. In the event, it was moved forward by a week, with the hope of there being some better weather.

On the day, it was raining and cloudy, but it was very muggy so it wasn’t going to be too cold, especially seeing as there was steaming hot tea, coffee and biscuits available. The surface team was led by Greehouse, a local environmental movement.




I was to take part as a buddy team leader. I know the site very well, having been my learning ground and having a fair amount of dives under my belt, I was to lead a team of four. The Foss area is a harbour dive, and although it is at the mouth of Marsamxett, there is a remarkable ecosystem which thrives.

Flat fish skim the sand bed and bury themselves there, their only giveaway being two tiny beady little eyes. Seahorses cling onto algae for dear life as they sway in the current while Scorpion Fish lurk in dark holes and against reefs, where they are almost invisible. Fireworms crawl around the fissures, while colourful nudibranches attach themselves to anything which doesn’t move. Octopus, cuttlefish, sea urchins, red mullet and many others can all be found in this area.

Of course, one must not forget the HMS Maori – a real WWII wreck lying half buried in sand at a depth of 14-18 metres. She is one of those old, old ships that looks like she belongs to her environment. Brown and rusting, she is home to myriad life forms, and a lovely relaxed dive to boot.

During the briefing, Jason explained to the whole group that one has to be careful in picking rubbish off the seabed. We have seen octopi living in kettles, spider crabs living in broken glass bottles and shrimps in any little nook and cranny that they can find. Scorpion fish love to settle themselves into crevices and metal poles and tubes can make quite a nice home for them.

The cleanup team needed to understand a fundamental point – on a cleanup, it is important to not cause more harm to wildlife than good. You cannot lift a piece of debris out of the water if it has significant life on it.

Briefing done, we entered the (shockingly) cold water and buddied up into our teams. I checked with the four other divers and they were ready to go… all give the okay, thumb down and off we go.

As soon as you equalize and get to the seabed, which is only at about six metres in depth, the volume and array of rubbish really does hit you. Of course, what would be an easy task on land soon becomes a complicated problem underwater. Trying to get hold of swollen cigarette butts and lighters is a completely different ball game – add a bit of a current and busy divers to the mix, and it soon becomes a bit congested.

Within minutes, we had picked up countless fag ends, plastic bottles, broken glass bottles, bits and pieces of plastic and more. My find of the day was a rug which had been dumped into the sea.


Knowing that it might be full of life, I unfolded it – again, no easy task, and shook it out as best I could and handed it to the snorkeling team at the surface, to take it to shore. Though I tried my best, there was still one spider crab hanging on for dear life by the time the rug made it to the rubbish pile, but someone spotted it and put it back into the sea.

By the end of the afternoon, we had collected a substantial amount of rubbish ranging from a car alternator, bar stool, a carpet and a set of dentures. This is to be taken in the context of another cleanup having been held some three weeks earlier.

Another big problem is detritus and rubbish which is left on the foreshore. If it is windy, or rainy, all that goes into the sea. The sea is our collective heritage, as mankind. This was put forward as a resolution to the United Nations by Malta. The resolution was passed, but the reality is that the seabed is “out of sight, out of mind”. We, as an island people are intrinsically linked to the sea. We should protect it and that means stopping overfishing, shark finning, dumping, drilling and much, much more. We have one world, one home; we need to preserve it.

Greenhouse & Watercolours Dive Centre thanked Greenskips for donating a skip towards this event and to BRINCS Biscuits for supporting such activities by sponsoring this event.



For more info on Beach & Underwater Clean Up activities please join the Facebook group ‘Underwater Naturalist Club’ and get involved.

Scuba & Snorkelling - Course & Clean-up

Greenhouse will be organizing an event spread over two days that will give participants a taste of the underwater world.

For those who are not certified in SCUBA diving, Greenhouse together with Watercolours Dive Centre and with the kind sponsorship of Brinc’s Biscuits will be offering a ‘Discover Scuba Diving’ (DSD) half day course on the 16^th of October. This will feature a lecture and two dives under the instruction of qualified divers. The certification at the end of the course can be used as a stepping stone to the ‘Open WaterDiver’ Course whereby the money spent for the DSD course will be deducted from the Open Water Diver course and will be accomplished through fewer dives. The normal price for this course is €60 but one can book a place with a special discounted price of €25 if booking is done through Greenhouse.

On the 17^th of October whoever undertakes the DSD course can join Greenhouse and Watercolours Dive Centre for a seabed cleanup at Valletta. One can rent the necessary equipment against a fee of €20. Certified SCUBA divers can join too. One can also come and help out using his goggle and snorkel.

Pre-booking is necessary on 99841312, or green.uom@gmail.com

  

Supported by: Watercolours Dive Centre

Sponsored by: Brinc's Biscuits Co. Ltd.