Malta's natural underwater heritage and the Florida Keys habitats

Heritage Malta recognises that the islands' heritage goes well beyond the prehistoric sites and museums. It includes the natural landscape and habitat both on land and in the sea. Its current project with Aurora Trust is exploring the seabed for archaeological remains.

Its interest in the sea however goes beyond this, and in another joint venture with Aurora Trust and with the collaboration of the Education Division, Heritage Malta sent a teacher to follow a MarineLab programme in Florida where she explored and discussed with experienced marine biologists the sea-grasses, mangroves and coral reefs surrounding Key Largo.

This experience helped Sandra Agius Darmanin to better understand our own sea ecology and to understand better the problems that it faces.

Ms Agius Darmanin will share the results of her experience during a lecture at the head office of Heritage Malta in Merchants Street, Valletta (near the Jesuits' church), on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Ms Agius Darmanin is a biology teacher at Margaret Mortimer Girls' Junior Lyceum, Sta LuCija. She enjoys fieldwork and practical activities with students especially those which deal with the local environment. Her area of research includes marine and coastal ecology with a focus on environmental management.

Ms Agius Darmanin has carried out field visits in the Amazon Forest, Peru; Maremma, Italy; Sicily, and Dorset, UK, and uses experiences like these to increase the students' awareness of their environment.

The lecture, which will be richly illustrated, will be in English. Entrance is free and everybody is invited.