Back to the grass roots

The life of a forest ranger is surely not one for the faint-hearted. In the past five months, Ray Vella, ranger of the Foresta 2000 site, has gone through two life-changing experiences.

The first occurred last May when Mr Vella happened to be the first person to discover the damage and destruction caused by criminals at the Foresta 2000 site, during which rampage 3,000 trees and shrubs were struck upon in a deliberate, senseless act of pure vandalism.

The second happened just recently when he was shot at in the face while tending to his own personal field in Mizieb after a long day of hard work at the Foresta 2000 site.

One may think that the two incidences are not connected except for two things: In both incidents, BirdLife Malta was involved. The first time around, because BirdLife Malta is one of the project partners of Foresta 2000; in the second case, because the hunter who shot Mr Vella made deliberate reference to the organisation, taunting him with his active membership of BirdLife.

More importantly, the two incidences have one other thing in common: Mr Vella's absolute determination to never give up and, contrary to all expectations, to continue fighting in the face of adversity in the hope that Malta will one day return to its natural splendour.

"If anyone thinks that the vandalism attack back in May is going to discourage BirdLife and Din l-Art Helwa, they have another thing coming!," Mr Vella says in no uncertain terms.

He explains how the nonsensical act in May put the Foresta 2000 project back by around three years.

"The trees and shrubs which were deliberately cut down, with pine trees and oaks being targeted in particular, meant that the planting that had gone on for the three years prior to this incident was lost in the swoop of an axe.

"When I arrived on the site, at about 7 a.m. I couldn't believe my eyes. The scene before me was one of utter destruction: Shrubs had been beaten down with hoes; trees sawed off. This was a malicious and methodical attack on 65 tumoli of land (about seven hectares) which in financial terms set the project back some Lm30,000. This was money donated by the public at large, by schools (one of which had planted 120 trees), by the Italian Corpo Forestale dello Stato, by BirdLife Malta, and from taxpayers' money," he explains.

To stress his point further, Mr Vella recounts how even the court-appointed expert told him he had never seen destruction on such a large scale, other than that on the prehistoric temple of Mnajdra some years back.

Then, that same day and more so in the following days and weeks, the reaction came. And what a reaction it was! The outcry was immediate and within a short time well over Lm45,000 were collected through donations that poured into an account opened for the purpose by the Environment Ministry.

"This reaction gives you the courage to continue, to defeat that small minority that wish destruction upon our island rather than progress," Mr Vella says.

This weekend, a significant number of persons will be descending on the Foresta 2000 site where they will begin to plant trees and shrubs, which will gradually lead to the replacement of the trees destroyed and damaged. However, Foresta 2000 is not simply a tree-planting site.

"Foresta 2000 was dreamt up in 1997 by BirdLife Malta as a project that was to be the organisation's millennium gift to Malta and the Maltese people. In fact, the original area it was intended for was much smaller, but then, with Din l-Art Helwa on board, together with the Parks Department of the Environment Ministry, the project has grown substantially," he explains.

"The biggest challenge at the Foresta 2000 site is not the planting of the flora but rather the maintenance of the place. First off, the Parks Department had to reconstruct four kilometres of rubble wall in order to combat terrain corrosion.

"The first years in particular are very tough as, since we are planting saplings as opposed to seeds, the root system will not have gone down deep enough into the terrain. In addition, the area is an open area exposed to the sun. This certainly doesn't help our cause as we are thus trying to create a forest from nothing!

"One of the most important things we could do to help this along was to plant a mix of trees and shrubs, rather than only trees. The shrubs will spread the leaf system and in the first years will create shade for the little tree saplings that are planted. In addition, the shrubs will attract birds to the area as within two to three years their berries and fruit will provide much-needed sustenance to these creatures. On the other hand, as the trees grow, they will then provide the shade, acting as a canopy to the whole woodland.

"Some of the area is itself too rocky for the planting of trees. So here, we are trying to include plants such as the wild thyme and the wolfbane, which do well on this terrain. This project is thus an afforestation initiative, as opposed to the creation of groves which are the result of tree-planting initiatives," Mr Vella explains.

His passion for birds is absolute and he has in fact been a member of BirdLife since the 1970s. He has also been involved with trees for as long, planting most of the trees that exist on Comino, Ghadira and at Dwejra back in the mid-1970s.

Working in this field is no mean feat, with early wake-ups, as early as 5 a.m., and hours of back-breaking work in the field which in the summer months needs to come to an end by 10 a.m. as the sun is too hot then!

But the satisfaction that Mr Vella gets from his job is very apparent in the way he proudly explains his duties. "My work on Foresta 2000 starts with having to straighten out the little saplings, although we try hard to keep things as natural as possible, a little push and shove don't hurt. I protect the site from grazing animals, in winter. I scour the site for the perfect terrain in which to plant different species. It is now a matter of returning the land back to its grass roots, to what it was before years of over-grazing and the creation and subsequent abandon of agricultural land."

He makes one final appeal to the public. "Foresta 2000 is not a park or public garden. There will be trails the public will be able to walk upon, as well as areas for picnickers. However, we will be putting up gates to prevent access by vehicles which are leading to the hardening of the earth, resulting in a lack of moisture for the saplings and shrubs. Green wardens will be employed to patrol the area. This, particularly in light of the illegal camping that is going on at the site, which also results in large amounts of garbage being abandoned there. It is quite incredible how someone who has enjoyed the countryside would then leave it in such a degrading state for him/herself and others to enjoy again in future.

"We need to instil a sense of pride in our countrymen and women; we need to insist on laws being respected. We need more patrolling of these areas where people are knowingly disregarding the law time and time again."

In order to contribute towards this conservation project send your donation to the Foresta 2000 account: APS Bank Ltd 20000166561. You can also donate online at www.birdlifemalta.org.

Tours

During the weekend activity, tours will be offered free of charge to the Ghadira Nature Reserve and the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project site at l-Ahrax tal-Mellieha.

It is essential to pre-book the tour by calling BirdLife during office hours on 2134 7644/5.

Visit www.birdlifemalta.org for more information.

Foresta 2000 is open to visitors all year round. If you are interested in organising a guided tour for school groups contact BirdLife Malta.

Ms Schranz is communications coordinator of BirdLife Malta.