Naxxar Cub Scouts, accompanied by their leaders, recently visited the Majjistral Park where they were given a guided walk by Annalise Falzon about territorial bird calls, endemic plant species, adaptations of plants to survive in the Maltese climate and the importance of respecting the environment.
The cub scouts then helped to clean up a small section of the park. The group collected a total of 498 empty cartridge shells fired by hunters. These were later used in a crafts project to build a model of a Maltese stone corbelled hut (girna).
They also helped a park ranger to care for olive trees planted in the park. Snails are one of the pests that attack olive trees but the ranger explained that pest control in the park is conducted in an environmentally friendly way, without the use of harmful chemicals found in conventional pesticides.
The park ranger showed the cub scouts how a material called dacron is tied around the base of the tree trunks to ward off the snails. They then helped to remove dacron that had been used in previous years and replaced it with a new layer secured in place with a reef knot.