Past Entries

Capturing but not living the moment

submitted by Gozo College Middle School : Maia Camilleri  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): newspaper,school magazine,website,school media,other,Noticeboard, EkoSkola blog
filed under Photos Reporting photo

A lot of people waste magical moments by taking photos which they can then post on the media to say ‘I was there’. Just because we can capture the moment doesn’t mean that it is the best thing to do. The opportunity to stop and appreciate the moment is frequently missed. Think about the meaning of the moment. Value it with the heart and the eyes, and not through a lens. Don’t let capturing the moment stop you from living it!



Read More

A Littered Picnic

submitted by Zejtun St Thomas More Secondary School : Yasmin Borg, Anis Riahi, Selma Zinou  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): school magazine,website,other,School monitor in the reception area
filed under Photos Reporting photo

Enjoying a picnic in a public park and yet surrounded by litter. Is it so difficult to enjoy a picnic in the open air? Dumping litter onto the ground not only is an eyesore but also threatens wildlife. Littering also contributes to water pollution and costs the country money. Litter can also block drain pipes leading to more flooding. Furthermore, litter is also unhygienic and can lead to illness. The presence of litter indicates lack of respect for the other people living in the community. Why should we pay taxes to employ workers to clean our litter when we can all do our mite to deposit our litter in provided bins or take it home with us? Does it have to cost us so much effort and money to keep our country clean?



Read More

Treasures of the Sea or Destroyers of the Sea?

submitted by Zejtun St Thomas More Secondary School : Krista Gatt  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): school magazine,website,other,School monitor in the reception area
filed under Photos Reporting photo

As time goes by, harbours require maintenance. One such activity involves the dredging of the seabed (the removal of unwanted sediment). Unfortunately, a large percentage of the seabed present within commercial harbours ends up accumulating various items. Most of these include material derived from the loading and unloading of cargo such as steel, rubber pipes and lost cargo. Tyres, which are usually used as fenders, also from time to time end up on the seabed. Sadly, not only visible materials are dredged. The upper layer of the seabed is also contaminated with toxic substances from paint, oil and other chemicals. The attached photo shows materials mentioned above, which were dredged from the Grand Harbour of Valletta in October 2017. In this particular operation, the total amount of steel collected reached 1.8 tons!



Read More

One man’s waste… another man’s treasure

submitted by St. Thomas More Secondary School Zejtun : Marija Camilleri  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): other, School monitor in the reception area, school magazine, website
filed under Photos Reporting photo
awarded: 1st place Litter less Campaign

Modern societies have adopted a throw-away culture. In Europe, in 2015, each person has generated an average of 477kg of municipal waste. In Malta alone, each person generates more than 600kg of waste yearly. Environmental awareness has helped for disposing of our waste wisely by reusing and recycling paper, metal, plastic and glass. However, we are still wasting resources as we are throwing away organic matter generated in our households through food scraps, vegetable waste, tea bags, dead leaves and twigs. Nature shows us clearly that one man’s waste can be another’s treasure. Instead of filling our landfills with organic waste, we can give nature the opportunity to do its job and break it down into compost. Compost can then be used to enrich soil with the nutrients it needs.



Read More

Gate way to heaven, but is it really heaven?

submitted by St. Thomas More Secondary School Zejtun : Shaznay Borg  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): school magazine,website,other,School reception monitor
filed under Photos Reporting photo

This photo portrays two different scenarios. There is a path leading to the sea but the path is littered with garbage. There is a very high probability that the garbage will end up in the sea. Consequently fish as well as other organisms may ingest the garbage. A number of harmful substances consumed by the said organisms may find their way up the food chain in a process known as bioaccumulation. Thus this brings up another question: “What are we really selling, buying and eating?” The photo only shows a fraction of marine litter but research suggests that about 12.7 million tonnes of plastic have accumulated in the world’s oceans as stated by an article in 2010. This is quite alarming considering that only 1% of the Earth’s water is suitable for drinking.



Read More

Let us save our Oceans.

submitted by St. Nicholas College Middle School Rabat : Victoria Magro, Kady Galea, Matteo Stagno, Jake Camilleri  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): school media,other,Whole school assembly, Featured in the Action Planet exhibition at St James Cavalier, Presented to other schools during the Global Week
filed under Campaigning video Video Clips

The video was created using the simple technique of stop motion where around 160 photos were taken. The aim of the video is to create an original fun, simple yet innovative way to convey a very important message: that we are all responsible and that we all can make a difference. Living on an Island makes this topic even more valid. The video clearly shows what the problems caused by Ocean litter are and gives simple ways how to minimize the damage and engage in more sustainable practices.



Read More

A Fairy Tale Solution

submitted by individual : Elisa Demanuele  for 7-10
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): newspaper,other,Social media Facebook
filed under Photos Reporting photo

Old tyres, imagination and a good will resulted in an attractive planter and waste reduction. A street with such planters makes you feel like Alice in Wonderland.



Read More

Worried about Mount Dirt?

submitted by St Clare's College Pembroke Secondary : Vladislav Bulibash  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): other,social media
filed under Photos Reporting photo

The silhouette in this photo is very worried seeing that there is mount dirt. We need to take care of the environment.



Read More

Nature’s Reading?

submitted by St Clare's College Pembroke Secondary : Vladislav Bulibash  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): other,social media
filed under Photos Reporting photo

We should dispose of our rubbish correctly. Magazines can be reused by giving them to other people to read or recycling them.



Read More

21st century emergent ‘trees’

submitted by Gozo College Middle School : Mara Spiteri  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): school magazine,website,school media,other,EkoSkola Noticeboard, EkoSkola blog
filed under Photos Reporting photo

Malta’s dependency on tourism, economic progress and population growth is putting extra pressure on the Maltese Islands’ surface area. Construction seems to have become Malta’s main source of income. The solution developers are providing for the ever increasing demand for accommodation is concrete high rise buildings. Urban sprawl is categorically affecting the balance between rural and built-up areas with a great loss of the local identity. Urban skylines are being swamped with haphazard development without any real concern on the effects on the surrounding area and environment. These emerging ‘trees’ are literally suffocating the traditional low buildings built in local stone. How sustainable is all this?



Read More