Over 200 students in Malta submitted 165 entries for this year’s Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programme and the Wrigley Litter Less campaign. The entries consisted of articles, photojournalism and videos on issues such as waste, water, energy, abandoned buildings and other themes related to the environment and sustainable development.

Sixteen entries were awarded best entries in their respective categories and were sent to compete with entries submitted by students from 28 other countries. The Maltese students managed to achieve three first place awards, two ­second place awards and one third place award.

The students competing in the Wrigley Litter Less campaign will be participating in an international workshop in Cyprus in October, where they will be conducting environmental investigations with reporters from eight other countries.

The best entries will also be awarded smartphones, trophies, cash and other gift items.

YRE is an international programme run by the Foundation for Environmental Education and represented locally by Nature Trust Malta.

Schools or students who wish to participate in the YRE programme next year are to e-mail YRE Malta on yre@naturetrustmalta.org.

www.yremalta.org

www.youngreporters.org

From iWant to e-waste, the footprint of our digital age

YRE local winner (article, 15-18 years)

Nicholas Zammit, G. F. Abela Junior College

This article deals with the topic of electronic waste, or e-waste, a significant problem in our increasingly digital society. E-waste is an invisible form of waste for many people, who do not realise the impact of throwing away electronic goods. The environmental consequences of improper disposal are extremely harmful due to the heavy elements contained in these products.

Ways of solving this problem are being developed at both local and EU levels. However, the consumer is the key to reducing e-waste, as adjusting the rate of purchase of electronic goods to a slower pace would reduce this waste stream.

White gold pans

YRE local winner (article, 11-14 years)

Benjamin Abela, St Margaret College Boys’ Secondary, Verdala

The salt pans of Marsascala, which probably date back to Roman times, need continuous protection, restoration and conservation. They are under constant threat from the ferocity of the sea and the storms which from time to time ravage the Marsascala coast. Financial help is needed to keep most of the abandoned salt pans free from invasive exotic plant species and alien vegetation and to ensure a good production of salt locally.

Bridge over troubled water?

YRE local winner (photo, 15-18 years)

Fatima El Kayati, Antonella Farrugia, Nicole Saliba, St Thomas More Girls’ Secondary School, Santa Luċia

Malta is one of the countries with the least water resources. Having little rain and a highly populated area means that if the rain water is not used to its best, we will have serious problems in the coming years.

At our school, the playground is the roof of a water reservoir. The reservoir could be used to water all the school trees and for the toilet flushing.

But the reservoir is an old structure that needs maintenance in order to be used. It is at least 100 metres long by 50 metres wide and more than a storey high, so it can hold enough water to satisfy the school’s need for second-class water.

As students we need to keep the ground clean so that rubbish will not block the reservoir’s water intakes.

If the reservoir has more water than the school needs, it could also be passed on to help farmers in the vicinity use this water instead of pumping it from a borehole. Pumping too much water from boreholes will create problems as it will result in the underground water, which is good to drink, being invaded by salty sea water.

Use and reuse. Know your boundaries

YRE local winner and YRE international competition winner (photo, 11-14 years)

Matthew Curmi, Gozo College Boys’ Secondary School, Victoria

Glass is like a rock, it doesn’t decompose. A bottle that you throw into a field next door may be broken in a hundred pieces, but it will remain as something foreign to the environment. Yet, if recycled it can still be of use to society. It only takes a minute to place it in a recycling bin. It’s your choice.

Saving mother nature

YRE local winner and third in the YRE international competition (video, 11-14 years)

Luigi Dimech, St Edward’s College

The aim of this video is to make viewers aware of some of the main causes of litter in Malta and of the need to reduce, reuse and recycle.

We should set examples for others, conserve water and keep mother nature clean in the best way possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BZjooRno80

Vox populi

Wrigley Litter Less national winner (video, 15-18 years)

Anthony Grech, Leeon Francalanza, Owen Sciriha, Terence Zammit, St Clare College Boys’ Secondary School, Gżira

“Which area of Gżira do you think is the most polluted?” and “How is this affecting you or your health?” These were the two questions that these ‘journalists’ set out to investigate.

They took to the streets of Gżira and asked people what they think about the pollution in their area and more importantly, how this is directly affecting their health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXFdYYZu0Xk

Splashed by trash

Wrigley Litter Less local winner and second place in the Wrigley Litter Less international competition (video, 19-21 years)

Cherise Caruana, Emma Scicluna, Francesco Pavia, Johann Camilleri, Rossella Caruana, Eco Centre, Żejtun

Our sea is a jewel, a treasure. It is for our leisure and also provides us with food. But we cannot forget that our sea is also a habitat for thousands of species.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_2eGCi0Ln4

One sandwich short of a picnic

YRE local winner and second in the YRE international competition (photo, 19-21 years)

Johann Camilleri, Eco Centre, Żejtun

In Europe, about 90 million tonnes of food is wasted annually. According to NSO Malta, on average, 22 per cent of the food purchased weekly by Maltese residents ends up in the solid waste stream. Food is not only thrown away by households, it is also wasted due to over-production or inadequate storage or packaging.

Wiser shopping and planning avoids good food being thrown away. Food leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen and used for other meals. Products like bread and vegetables can be given to farmers to feed their animals. Overripe fruit can make healthy, fresh smoothies or fruit pies, while vegetables make delicious, healthy soups instead of bulging our trash bins.

Our great-grandmothers used to turn leftover bread into delicious bread puddings. This is more than worthwhile considering that according to UN Water, 40 litres of water are used to produce a slice of bread.

Cigarette butts as litter – toxic as well as ugly

Wrigley Litter Less local winner (article, 15-18 years)

Kimberly Galea, G.F. Abela Junior College, Msida

This article discusses the situation in Malta regarding cigarette butts, a small but harmful type of waste that litter our streets and ends up in waterways. It investigates initiatives undertaken to address the issue and offers suggestions on what more should be done.

Free Rosy and her friends

YRE national winner (video, 15-18 years)

Carmen Galea, St Benedict College Girls’ Secondary School, Tarxien

Five loggerhead turtles – Rosy, Ricardo, Spartacus, Kiko and Bizu – were released last November from the Blue Flag beach of Paradise Bay, Ċirkewwa. These marine turtles were found injured in the sea after swallowing fishing hooks, nylon and fishing lines. They were given the necessary medical treatment for several weeks.

A key solution to protect these creatures is by educating the younger generation. We have to keep the sea clean from waste, especially plastic bags, because every year a number of turtles die suffocated by mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish. With our help, these marine species can live longer in cleaner seas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWp0rtMwPvc

Bring-in or dumping sites?

Wrigley Litter Less local winner (article, 11-14 years)

Ekoskola committee; Gozo College Girls’ Secondary School, Victoria

Like many other localities in the Maltese islands, the picturesque fishing village of Xlendi has more than one bring-in site. These sites, which were introduced in various locations in Malta in 2003 by WasteServ Malta in an effort to improve the separation of recyclable waste at source, have facilitated the separation of waste by households.

But irresponsible people are making them inaccessible by depositing mounds of garbage bags and rubbish at the base of the separated waste containers.

Fruit for thought

Wrigley Litter Less local winner and winner of the Wrigley Litter Less international competition (photo, 19-21 years)

Johann Camilleri, Eco-Centre Zejtun

A Food and Agriculture Organisation report states that 1.3 billion tonnes of food per year is lost or wasted through the entire food chain, from farm to plate. This amounts to about a third of the food for human consumption.

According to the UN Environment Programme, when throwing away food, we are wasting major resources such as water, land, labour and energy which are used to produce it. Food waste that ends up in landfills contributes to global warming and climate change as it adds 3.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases to the planet’s atmosphere.

Considering that 13.1 per cent of people are hungry and 33 per cent of food is wasted, we must keep in mind that the food we waste and throw away could have been the meal for those suffering hunger.

As Pope Francis said: “Throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry!”

Potpourri

Wrigley Litter Less local winner (photo, 11-14 years)

Mattia Agius Muscat, St Edward’s College

The word potpourri refers to a mix of dried flowers; however when literally translated it also means a mixture of rotten and unrelated material.

This contradiction reflects the unfortunate situation captured by this photo of wild flora by the sea coast in the limits of Xagħjra being turned into a dump.

What a beautiful world it would be if we all ensured that our environment is turned into a fresh potpourri rather than a rotten potpourri!

The newcomer

Wrigley Litter Less national winner (video, 11-14 years)

Gabriel Sciberras, Mikea Dimech, St Edward’s College

This video, accompanied by the epic music of Howard Shore (best known for the music of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit), relates both the positive and negative sides of nature.

It begins with nature at its best, then suddenly illustrates the work of a certain ‘newcomer’.

This is the litter and pollution that we all know too well.

The video mentions that the ‘newcomer’ is us humans who contribute to pollution.

After seeing both the positive and the negative, we are faced with instructions to return the environment to its original and beautiful state.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDhhy-SqwI4

Gateway to heaven

Wrigley Litter Less local winner and winner of the international Wrigley Litter Less competition (photo, 15-18 years)

John Charles Fenech, Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School, Naxxar

Fennel, cape sorrell, thistle and many other species are trying to survive the struggle against rubbish. Is this the gate that takes you to a wonderful relaxing natural place? Or a gate that takes you to broken glass, sharp tins, broken plastic and other dangerous things?

How are insects, worms and plants benefiting from this rubbish, and what benefits do people get out of this mess?

There is a simple answer to this question, there is no form of benefit. Unless there is a species of animal that feeds on broken glass or plastic, there is no way this could be beneficial to any living organism.

Apart from the fact that people could get hurt simply by walking near an area such as this (for example by accidentally stepping on broken glass), these waste materials can release toxic substances that are harmful to humans and the environment.

Is this the kind of place we want to step into when we pass through a gate? No one can say this is heaven on earth.

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