Mosta Boy Scouts, aged seven to 16, were given a talk about the importance of protecting local biodiversity at their summer camp recently.

This year the week-long camp was held in the Pwales valley of Simar, limits of St Paul’s Bay.

The talks were delivered by environment protection officers from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Mosta Scouts leader Edward Vella pointed out that “environmental issues, such as the importance of biodiversity, are high on our agenda as scouts. As a group we spend a lot of time surrounded by nature where we mostly enjoy carrying out activities.

“We strongly believe our ­members should keep learning to experience how biodiversity makes life on earth possible.”

Mepa environment protection officer Matthew Grima Connell said: “We were overly surprised with the feedback we got from this group of scouts. From the level of interaction, it clearly shows these youths are familiar with the natural beauty of our country’s biodiversity.”

He added that Mepa will continue to participate in other scout summer camps to highlight the importance of biodiversity.

Mepa is currently carrying out a national awareness campaign entitled ‘Biodiversity: it’s your life, protect it’, together with a number of other educational initiatives.