Young Reporters for the Environment is an international programme aimed at encouraging secondary and post-secondary students to analyse local environmental issues and propose solutions through investigative reporting and photo/video journalism.

Every year, schools all over the world take part in the programme on a voluntary basis, with entries consisting of photos, videos and articles. The best entries are selected by a national jury and sent abroad to compete with foreign schools.

The main aim of the programme, run by the Denmark-based Foundation for Environmental Education and represented locally by Nature Trust (Malta), is to engage youths in resolving environmental problems and issues in their respective country.

The following are the best Maltese entries selected for the current scholastic year. The international winners of the programme will be announced next month. During the 2010-2011 scholastic year, Malta’s entries won the Super Award and three other awards.

Students taking part in this year’s programme also participated in the Malta Tourism Authority’s competition ‘Let’s conserve Malta’s natural habitat’, the results of which will be announced in the coming days.

All entries and information may be viewed on www.yremalta.org.

Sliema: where has the peace gone?

Winner: 11 to 14 age category
Caroline Vassallo and Marta Cachia, St Joseph School, Sliema

A crane towers over a Sliema street.A crane towers over a Sliema street.

Our school is located in the heart of Sliema. Over the past years, our journey towards school has always ended with a peaceful, picturesque ride by the Sliema coastline.

The situation has, however, changed drastically over the past year. This change has been mainly brought about by the extensive construction and roadworks being carried out.

These works lead to a variety of problems: traffic congestion, potholes and broken pavements, lack of parking, noise pollution and air pollution. The dust particles in the air have also affected the pH value of rain water, making it alkaline.

Among our proposals, we think only a limited number of permits for construction should be approved at one time and there should be prompt resurfacing of roads. Sliema residents deserve peace and tranquillity in their day-to-day lives.

The whole article may be read at www.yremalta.org/past-entries/sliema-where-has-the-peace-gone-3.

Using second-class water

Winner: 14 to 18 age category
Hertian Vassallo, St Margaret College, Boys’ Secondary School, Verdala, Cottonera

During the past scholastic year a group of students interested in geography, carried out a water audit at school and thanks to this investigation, last March a system was launched to utilise second-class water from the school’s main reservoir. The school’s Geo Club members of 2006 had presented this suggestion prior to major restructuring works were carried out at the school but the system was never connected.

Read the whole article at www.yremalta.org/past-entries/geographical-investigation-contributes-to-reduction-of-schools-carbon-footprint.

Are there pockets in a shroud?

Winner: 14 to 18 age category
Georgie Zahra and Nicholas Attard, San Anton School, Mġarr

The new Nadur cemetery being built.The new Nadur cemetery being built.

Ramla Valley is one of the most fertile areas in the north of Gozo. Feeding this valley is a fresh water stream that has irrigated the terraced fields for centuries.

On top of the valley, an area of previously unspoilt beauty has been ravaged to build a cemetery for the nearby village of Nadur.

This monstrosity is negatively affecting the environment both visually and also affecting the fresh water stream that feeds the fertile land below.

Ironically, the permit for this structure was given the go-ahead on World Environment Day.

The farmers working this land left no stone unturned to lay bare all the irregularities that took place – both regarding the permit and in the construction of the graves.

A group of young environmentalists crossed the channel to meet the farmer representing the rest of the farmers, and discover first-hand what is actually going on.

Read the whole article at www.yremalta.org/past-entries/are-there-pockets-in-a-shroud-2.

Best photos

That one drop

Winner: 14 to 18 age category
Shanise Micallef, St Benedict’s College, Girls’ Secondary School, Tarxien


For many countries a drop of water may be meaningless. However, for arid and semi-arid countries that experience hot weather, like many places in Africa and to a lesser extent, Malta, a drop of water can make the difference between life and death for many life forms.

Many plants and small animals, some of which may be very rare and almost extinct, manage to survive with very low amounts of water.

It is very important not to waste and contaminate this precious resource. We should all make an effort to save water.

Dump vs nature

Winner: 11 to 14 age category
Jonathan Joseph Barbara, Archbishop’s Seminary School, Rabat


I took this photo when I went for a walk with my family in the countryside in Baħrija. I still can’t believe my eyes that after so many talks about taking care of the environment, there are still people who don’t care and dump their rubbish anywhere they want.

We are lucky that in Malta we have five different civic amenity sites that open every day and are free of charge for the public to make use of. Even local councils offer free services to come to our house and pick up bulky waste. Unfortunately, sometimes people do not seem to be bothered to use this service.

We definitely need to increase awareness and help people understand the real impact of such actions. At the end of the day it does not only boil down to eyesores but direct impacts on our surroundings – which basically shape our lives.

Best videos

The two-wheeled solution: the bicycle

Winner: 14 to 18 age category
Steve Zammit Lupi, Junior College, Msida

The bicycle can contribute to solve our traffic and environmental problems.The bicycle can contribute to solve our traffic and environmental problems.

I’ve always loved riding my bicycle. When I was younger, I never had Playstation or a computer as children do today; as a break from my homework I would explore the outdoor world by biking instead.

Apart from being a hobby it became a mode of commuting. As I grew older I started to ask questions and tried to find alterna-tives to our transport and environmental problems.

I discovered that the bicycle can easily substitute the car, the modern-age vehicle we have come obsessed with to get from A to B.

Isn’t it ironic that we have stopped calculating distances in how far they actually are but rather in terms of how long it will actually take us to arrive there?

We have forgotten how our villages are interconnected. We have forgotten how close they are.

We are too busy stuck in traffic to realise that it’s taking us 30 minutes to arrive from A to B when it’s just three kilometres away, or that you are wasting 15 minutes every day to find parking instead of making good use of that time.

We grumble when the fuel prices rise, but we fail to do something to change it and find an alternative. Worse still, we forget we are polluting the air we breathe when we travel from here to there, even if it is a short distance away.

We are too busy stuck in traffic to realise it’s taking us 30 minutes to arrive from A to B when it’s just 3km away.We are too busy stuck in traffic to realise it’s taking us 30 minutes to arrive from A to B when it’s just 3km away.

Let’s face the truth: Malta is just a rock, with so many people and cars crowded in such a small area, we are finding it difficult to get around. Traffic and park-ing problems remain a mind-racking problem that every driver faces daily.

Yeah, there’s public transport but no matter how efficient it is, it still has its limits and setbacks.

If you can’t solve a problem, rethink it, and solve it differently. And the bicycle can contribute to solve our traffic and environmental problems.

Most of the trips we do by car can easily be done by bicycle, and you will probably arrive quicker, or if not, in a less stressful and relaxed way.

Unless we show the authorities that we mean business and are ready to change, nothing actually will.

So let’s show everyone that we love riding our bicycles and that we demand a safer and more sustainable environment for all to enjoy.

It is true that our roads aren’t so safe because there are so many cars, but how is that supposed to change if no one is ready to take the first step and ride his or her bike instead?

I am ready to cycle to introduce the bicycle culture that is alive and kicking in other countries.

I am 16, but I am ready to change that. Yes, it’s the two-wheeled solution… it’s the bicycle.

Watch the video at the weblink: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfhhm5OWXzk.

Heaven at Chadwick Lakes?

Winner: 11 to 14 age category
Grace Anne Muscat, St Margaret College, Girls’ Secondary School, Żejtun

Photo: Darrin Zammit LupiPhoto: Darrin Zammit Lupi

This video describes the beauty at Chadwick lakes, a shallow valley at Rabat, Malta. On the other hand, it also illustrates the bad state of this area, which makes it less accessible.

Due to this, fewer tourists and Maltese are visiting the area.

Watch the video at the following weblink: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7BwQpjBt8M.

Winner: 19 to 21 age category
David Ellul, Jean Claude Schembri, Johann Camilleri, Joseph Degabriele, Roderick Baldacchino and Tonio Farrugia, Eco Centre, Żejtun parish


During the past years in Żejtun, there has been a new kind of property development: clustered housing. Blocks of apartments are being built in private gardens of old houses or are replacing existing houses.

These apartments are not only gobbling up the few ‘green areas’ that were left in the urban area of Żejtun, but are also much smaller in size than traditional houses/apartments.

This is negatively affect- ing both the environment and family life.

Watch the video at the following weblink: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x320oqDNMy0.

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