Young reporters
for the environment

Nature Trust – FEE Malta held its annual Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, 20th May 2025, at Tortuga Beach, Little Armier. 141 students, from 15 schools distinguished themselves from a total of 208 entries including podcasts, videos, photos and articles tackling issues pertaining to pollution, biodiversity loss and climate action. The event brought together students, teachers, and environmental advocates to celebrate young people’s commitment to environmental journalism.

The ceremony began with the touching release of the loggerhead turtle Andrea. The turtle was spotted by a tourist boat driver at Crystal Lagoon in Comino in early April 2025 after it was showing obvious signs that it was having difficulty diving. The call was received by the Wildlife Rescue Team operated by Nature Trust- FEE Malta and thanks to a coordinated response by ERA and AFM, the turtle was picked up and brought to shore. Close inspection by the vet Dr Grupetta and the Wildlife Rescue Team revealed a hook lodged inside the alimentary canal and a fishing line coming out of its rear end. Following months of rehab and medication, finally the hook and the fishing line came lose and Andrea immediately started to show signs of improvement. After making sure that it was feeding well and able to dive again it was given the green light to go back to its natural environment.

Following the turtle release, the YRE awards ceremony took place at the Tortuga Beach Restaurant. Students were recognised for their articles, photos, videos, and podcasts exploring environmental issues. Whilst all schools received participation certificates and mementos, students with winning entries were awarded trophies and prizes. For the first time this year, students were also given formal accreditation. A Non-Formal Award in the Young Reporters for the Environment Programme at MQF level 1-3 has been officially accredited by the Directorate For Quality and Standards In Education (DQSE) according to the Malta Qualifications Framework.

Winning YRE entries will now compete with other countries on in international platform involving students from over 45 YRE country members.

This year’s YRE programme served as a platform for the EU co-funded project – RESisles which aimed to foster dialogue on the economic, social, and environmental challenges associated with climate change pressures that Cyprus, Malta, and Crete, face. To this end, during the event, a teacher was also selected by ballot to represent Malta at the RESisles final event in Cyprus this November. The ceremony highlighted the vital role of education and youth engagement in tackling today’s environmental challenges, with Andrea’s journey and the students’ work offering both reflection and hope for the future.

YRE Malta – @YRE is coordinated by @Nature Trust – FEE Malta with support from the Ministry of Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation and HSBC Malta Foundation. Special thanks to Luke Gatt from Tortuga beach for welcoming us for the event.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.