Malta Preparation Activities

Writing a Biographical Description in January

As soon as the participants were chosen, they were given the first task. Each participant had to write a paragraph about their expectations, fears and contribution to this project, as instructed by Nikolas and were later uploaded on the project's website. These biographical notes were a good starting point for us to get to know each other further, often serving as conversation starters. 

Logo Contest in January/February

The second task was to design a logo for the logo competition. The brief was to create a logo using any medium, including computer graphics. All in all, three logos were submitted, the three reaching a high standard of quality. Nevertheless, when it came to voting, the most popular logo was the polish one, the logo that ultimately won the competition.

Online Meeting in early March

The Maltese group met online in May online to discuss the way forward. On the agenda, there was plenty to discuss:

- research about the topic of the marine environment

- the road trip

- the seminar by specialists in the conservation of the marine environment and the effects of climate change

- The creation of four posters with four different themes

- A dissemination strategy for our work and the knowledge that we gathered among the Maltese population

The meeting was fruitful and everyone was well prepared and participative.

Research by the Participants in March

The participants were tasked to do research about eight different topics and write between 250 - 400 words about the following topics. This task was done preparation of the road trip and the experts' seminar:

1. About climate change and global warming [Milos Macanovic]

2. Mediterranean Sea Warming [Erica Hammenborn]

3. EU/Maltese Government projects LIFE Migrate and LIFE+ Malta Seabird projects + LIFE BaĦAR [Jamie Carter]

4. Marine Protected Areas [Erica Grech]

5. Invasive marine Species [Liliana Francalanza]

6. Effects of loss of biodiversity on tourism, fisheries and fish consumption [Kyle Micallef]

7. Ethical consumption of fish [Jasmin Darmanin]

8. Worst single-use plastics items that pollute the sea [Julia Barbara]

Road Trip in May

Exploring The Natural and Socio-Economic Side of the Marine Environment

Introduction

On 16th May, the Maltese group met early in the morning to catch the ferry to Gozo, Malta's smaller island. The destination was Dwejra, a site known for its great ecological importance. Dwejra is also a popular location with fishermen, divers and tourists and in the past has served as a film location for the first series of Game of Thrones.

Exploring the Natural/Social/Economic side of Dwejra

As soon as we arrived we made our way to a natural cave with a number of rock pools that are home to aquatic crustaceans, algae and small fish. It was particularly interesting to observe the level of biodiversity in a small and restricted space like a rock pool.

Then we proceeded to the inland sea area to meet Wenzu, a local fisherman, at his boathouse. He gave us a talk about the different fish species that they normally catch and the sustainable traditional fishing techniques that he has employed since he was a child. He lamented that in recent years, technology and commercial fishing have taken over, diminishing the fish population substantially. This talk was particularly interesting as it highlighted the social, cultural and economic aspect of Dwejra and how global warming, technology and life-style changes have had an impact on traditional communities.

Activity - Beach Cleanup

Finally, we set out to do a beach clean-up, an activity that is part of our effort to contribute in a practical way by reducing single-use plastic waste in our environment. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 89 percent of the plastic in the ocean is single-use plastic. Nevertheless, the beach was relatively clean, we mostly found cigarette butts, plastic cups and pieces of rope used by fishermen. These items were deposited in the appropriate garbage bags. Hopefully, there will be a day when our environment will be completely clean but this requires a concerted effort by the governments and the people. In January 2022, the Malta's Government banned the sale of plastic cutlery, plastic plates, cotton buds, balloon sticks, jablo cups, beverage containers, beverage stirrers, and straws. This is certainly a step in the right direction.

The Seminar by Experts

The topic of how global warming is compounding the environmental challenge of invasive species in the Mediterranean is a matter that is best discussed by experts. Prof. Alan Deidun, an eminent marine biologist, accepted to talk about invasive species in the Mediterranean, with a particular focus on Maltese waters. During the seminar, held at the Dwejra Marine Environmental Education Centre, he said that two main reasons are enabling invasive species to enter the Mediterranean, thrive and alter the delicate balance in the marine environment. One is the issue of commercial ships that enter the Mediterranean from the Suez canal, and the other is sea warming caused by global warming. The second talk was held by an academic and experienced diver, Prof Matthew Montebello, who told us how biodiversity in the marine environment in the last three decades has changed dramatically due to sea warming, spearfishing and sea acidification.

After these two talks, we watched an informative documentary about bio-diversity in the Dwejra marine environment. The participants then proceeded to gather information from the information panels that are displayed at the Centre. They were also given time to fill in an online quiz appositely prepared by the leaders. The quiz enabled the participants to collaborate and bond, seek information and actively participate in their learning. The information that was collected in this quiz will be used in the four posters that will be designed before the youth exchange.

Dissemination in May

At the end of the session, a film crew from Malta's national TV (TVM) interviewed three participants and one leader about the topics that were discussed during the seminar. The interview will be broadcast as a feature during the evening TV news. These TV interviews are part of our effort to disseminate what we learn to the general public.

The Cooking Activity

On the morning of 24th June, we all met at the college's Home Economics Laboratory to discuss sustainable cooking, ethical consumption and food security and to try out the recipe that was chosen for the Maltese evening. The discussion was engaging and informative. We all agreed that Malta is facing two main challenges. The first one is that international supermarket chains threaten small Maltese farmers' livelihood through aggressive competition on prices, making farming in Malta economically unviable. This leads to another challenge, food security. Soon, Malta will no longer be able to produce enough food for its population, making it dependent on foreign importation.

I n the second part of the activity, we set out to start cooking. We cooked pasta in a large pot of boiling water, fried garlic and cherry tomatoes and tossed some fresh basil leaves. In 20 minutes, the cooking was ready, and it was time to have lunch. We all agreed that this was the right choice for the Maltese evening dinner as it included three central ingredients of Maltese cuisine: garlic, tomatoes and basil.

Dissemination in June

To further promote this project and to make the general public more aware of the effects of climate change, we were invited as guests on a very popular TV programme, Niskata (https://www.facebook.com/niskatatv), on the national broadcasting station. During the programme, we highlighted the importance of caring for our environment and participating in such projects where students and lecturers from different European countries get together and work on essential themes affecting our everyday lives. Thanks to projects financed by the Erasmus+ programme, European citizens can collaborate and exchange ideas to try to make a better world. Such projects have a substantial intrinsic value, and the results achieved improve overall well-being and quality of life.

Our dissemination efforts continued when we contacted a national news website to write a report about our activities and the main topic of our research, the effects of climate change on the increase of invasive species in Maltese waters.

The report can be found online here: https://tvmnews.mt/news/studenti-ghawdxin-jistharrgu-t-tibdil-fil-klima-ma-studenti-ewropej-ohra/ 

Design of Four Posters in July

The last task given to the Maltese participants was the design of four posters. They created four posters about topics that we explored during the road trip, the seminar by experts and the research they carried out individually:

1. a poster with the information provided by Prof Deidun [an expert]

2. a poster with the information provided by Prof Montebello [an expert]

3. a poster about sustainable practices such as sustainable fishing, spearfishing and ethical consumption

4. A poster about EU and national programmes for marine environment protection and conservation