Be the first to comment!Botanical expert from EcoGozo leads two outdoor activities
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The resident botanical expert from EcoGozo was invited to lead two outdoor educational activities organised by Sir M A Refalo Centre for Further Studies and the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary respectively.
Mr. Stephen Mifsud from EcoGozo, was invited by the Sir M A Refalo Centre for Further Studies to give an outdoor talk at Dwejra to celebrate Mother Nature's beauty on Earth Day.
Mr. Mifsud delivered a lecture on the flora present in situ. He explained selected biological adaptations of local plants that were encountered at the cliffs of Dwejra and the wetland of Qattara.
He also defined with examples basic terms like indigenous, endemic and alien species. All plants observed were identified for the students and highlighted their particular characters related to pollination mechanisms or their protection.
The students then took part in a question and answer session, they were encouraged to ask further questions through the resident expert working at EcoGozo.
Stephen Mifsud was also invited by the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary, Victoria Gozo to share his botanical expertise and identification of local wild plants hence assisting the biology class in their fieldwork at Dwejra.
Mr. Mufsud identified the plants encountered and revealed several tips on how to identify a number of plants in the field. All students were supplied with a datasheet on which they jotted down notes, wrote the names of plants inside the transect, their corresponding abundance and any disturbances or pressures detected.
He also talked about the ecology of the surroundings and the biological adaptations related to morphological characters. The children present were very motivated and in a short time they started to identify plants themselves, shuch as the Caper Tree, the Maltese Salt Tree (endemic), the Golden Samphire, the Maltese everlasting, the Mediterranean Thyme, the Boar Thistle, African Carline-Thistle, the Maltese sea Chamomile (endemic) and the Maltese Stocks (endemic).
