10,000 saplings to be planted near Red Tower

Around 10,000 saplings are to be planted beneath the Red Tower in Mellieha - more than three times as many as vandals destroyed in the same area last May.

The saplings will be planted in the area known as Foresta 2000 between October 19 and 21.

The trees and shrubs that were originally planted over three years in an afforestation project involving Din l-Art Helwa, BirdLife and the Environment Ministry's Parks, Afforestation and Countryside Restoration Department, were uprooted. Their branches were broken or sawn off one by one.

Speaking on site yesterday, Environment Minister George Pullicino said the public's response to this senseless and cowardly act was to raise over Lm40,000 in four months, which means that each tree destroyed will be replaced by three.

Moreover, another 1,000 trees, donated by the Italian government following a visit by its Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, will also be planted.

Besides the intensive planting activity, the government, together with BirdLife and Din l-Art Helwa, is planning a number of activities to stimulate a public response, including regular tours to the Red Tower, the Mellieha natural reserve and the LIFE project at Tal-Madonna cliffs in Mellieha.