97 schools across Gozo and Malta connecting children with nature

by Gozo News · November 28, 2019

97 schools across Gozo and Malta earlier this week celebrated their outstanding achievements in connecting children with nature.

This was made possible through BirdLife Malta’s Dinja Wahda environmental education programme which is spread across all year groups from Kinder to Secondary students.

The Dinja Wahda awards ceremony 2019 took place at Esplora Interactive Science Centre and for the first time this year one celebration was held covering all ages and schools.

The accomplishments of no less than 92 Primary schools and another five Middle and Secondary Schools for the last scholastic year were recognised during this annual event.

Apart from celebrating the success of schools involvement during the last scholastic year (2018-2019), the ceremony also marked the launch of a new year (2019-2020) of engagement in the initiative.

64 primary schools received gold awards, 3 schools received silver awards, 6 schools were awarded with bronze awards and 19 schools with certificates. 3 schools received the blue banner – an award for schools which maintain the gold award three years in a row, and 40 schools retained the blue banner.

2 secondary schools received a gold award, whilst 7 schools were awarded with bronze awards.

In this case the programme consists of three different categories: “Action for Biodiversity,” “Connecting with Nature” and “Outreach for awareness,” with participating schools awarded for completing actions in each category. The awards are based on commitment to biodiversity and sustainability education.

The awards were distributed to schools by BirdLife Malta President Darryl Grima, BirdLife Malta Education Manager Sarah Brady and Charles Azzopardi, Executive PR & Marketing at Bank of Valletta (BOV).

During the event, which took a different format than previous years with interactive activities held in groups for over 200 children and teachers who attended, BirdLife Malta also inaugurated its latest Dinja Wahda Garden at Esplora which will now be open to all those who visit the centre.

BirdLife Malta said that it would like to extend its congratulations to all the participating schools for their hard work this year as well as give a special thanks to the Dinja Wahda coordinators who ensure the running of the programme in their school and support the teachers voluntarily.

“Without these coordinators, children would not be able to develop the skills, knowledge and values to protect the environment gained through participation in the Dinja Wahda programme,” it said.

BLM also have thanks to Bank of Valletta for their support as the programme’s educational partners and Esplora Interactive Science Centre for hosting this important ceremony for the first time and providing such a beautiful venue for this year’s event.