Two thousand Aleppo Pine trees, which are indigenous to Malta, have been planted by HSBC staff at Salina Park, an extension of Kennedy Grove, as part of the first major afforestation project undertaken by the HSBC Cares For The Environment Fund (HCEF).

The event was part of the Tree4U campaign to which the HSBC Cares For The Environment Fund committed Lm15,000 last January. Through this incentive, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment is carrying out afforestation projects at Salina Park and parts of Xrobb l-Ghagin.

"Today has been a worthwhile and enjoyable experience for HSBC staff members and their families. Together we have seen the financial support given to the Tree4U campaign by the HSBC Cares For The Environment Fund translate into action. With the excellent support of our employees we are helping to make a real difference to the quality of life in Malta," Godfrey Swain, director for HSBC Cares For The Environment Fund, said.

The Tree4U campaign encourages individuals to buy and plant their own tree in any of the selected areas chosen by the government for afforestation projects. Every tree will have a tag attached to it indicating the individual it represents.

Following the donation by the HSBC Cares For The Environment Fund, every bank employee is having a tree planted in his or her name.

"The Salina Park area was an abandoned piece of land which the government took over as one of its projects to increase afforestation areas in Malta," George Pullicino, the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said.

"By the end of the project, the area will be five times the size of Kennedy Grove as we know it today. It will incorporate an afforested area, a recreational area for picnics, a play area, a small formal garden and the wetland area which will be restored in the course of the next year-and-a-half."

He said that over the next few months, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment will be planting more trees at Salina Park, 4,000 trees in Mellieha and 500 trees at the pinetum in Pietà.

Following the planting of the 2,000 trees, HSBC staff and their families spent the rest of the day at Kennedy Grove where the bank provided entertainment and refreshments for all those present.

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