85 schools were today awarded for connecting children with nature during BirdLife Malta’s Dinja Wahda 2021 Awards Ceremony, which was this year held at Chateau Buskett.

Dinja Wahda is BirdLife Malta’s major environmental education programme in its commitment to connect children and young people with nature.

It is run in collaboration with the Education Ministry’s Directorate for Learning & Assessment Programmes and supported by Bank of Valletta.

The event celebrated the success of all the schools across Gozo and Malta involved in the programme during the scholastic year 2020/2021 and marked the launch of a new year of engagement.

The organisers said that in the Primary sector 42 schools received the Gold Award, eight schools received the Silver Award, one school was awarded with Bronze, one school with a special award in nature-based learning initiatives and 31 schools received a Certificate. Five schools received the Blue Banner, an award for schools which maintain the Gold Award for three consecutive years.

In the Secondary sector one school received the Gold Award and one school the Bronze Award. The awards are based on commitment to biodiversity and sustainability education.

Additionally, a total of 88 schools participated in online nature sessions led by BirdLife Malta’s education team who delivered more than 1,000 online sessions.

During the scholastic year 2020/2021 when school outings were not permitted, the Dinja Wahda team still managed to engage with as many students as possible in a more adaptive manner, despite schools not being able to visit the nature reserves.

The awards were presented to schools by BirdLife Malta President Dryl Grima, BirdLife Malta Education Manager Stefania Papadopol and Charles Azzopardi, Head of CSR & Communication at Bank of Valletta (BOV).

The organisers said that the ceremony also marked the launch of a new scholastic year of engagement (2021/2022) in the initiative and promotion of BirdLife Malta’s newest educational programme Dinja Wahda+.

The new Action Guide offers activities and resources tailor-made for each year group and they are all available online on BirdLife Malta’s website. The topics proposed consist of a progression of activities integrating knowledge, values and skills. Ten of the awarded schools already carried out Dinja Wahda+ activities and the feedback is ”very positive,” it said.

BirdLife Malta’s Dinja Wahda initiive forms part of the eNGO’s commitment to protect wildlife and its habitats through outdoor activities for school children both in school grounds and through educational visits to Malta’s nature reserves to help them connect with nature.

BirdLife Malta congratulated all the participating schools for their hard work this year as well as giving special thanks to the Dinja Wahda coordinators who ensure the running of the programme in their school an support the teachers voluntarily.

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

BLM also thanked Bank of Valletta for their ”continuous support as the programme’s educational partner and official sponsor.”

Photo by Alexandr Krushlinsk

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