Malta has for 20 years been the place I call home. I’ve learnt a lot during this journey, and my cleanup mission has grown so much that at times it feels overwhelming. At the moment, the green movement in Malta has a momentum that impossible to stop. This is what happens when people are persistent and I would like to start by saying a big thank you to all the fantastic people I know, or know of, for being part of this movement. Everyone who has ever made an environmentally-conscious decision forms part of this, not only the big NGOs. We are all in this together and will continue to fight united side by side.

Something that has put a lot of obstacles in my way on this journey has been the fear of people’s judgement. Many positive changes that could have been made by others and myself didn't happen, we simply decided not to go for it since it would make people judge us.

This is the part I don’t like and in Malta, being an island where everyone knows everyone, this is a bit more present than in bigger nations. It is natural and happens all over the world, but due to the size of our country it becomes more concentrated than in bigger ones.

At the moment I am at a crossroad; one that should be a no-brainer, but instead I am sleepless, thinking about what to do and more so, how to do it. Not because I don’t know what I want, but I'm simply being very careful to make sure I do this in a way that it won’t backlash. It shouldn’t be this way, people should be able to freely express themselves. Even if some may not approve of the decision I am about to make, a civil discussion should follow and not assault.

I have during these 7 years of organising cleanups come to the conclusion that we can never please everyone. At times I had the feeling that whatever I do, people will get upset. For a while I tried to prevent that and make everyone happy, but the older I get the less I try to make up for it. There will always be people who disagree with what you do or with the decisions you make. At the end of it, I am the one that will have to live with my decisions and by listening to others I would live their lives and not my own.

With this in mind I would like to remind everyone that we can’t only be negative and label people. We need to cheer the good things being done and at the same time give constructive feedback.

Discussions are always good, if done properly, and will build up a climate where people dare to put their ideas forward. In such climate, we would have more politicians and voters willing to agree on good points and work together for a better Malta.

We are a small nation, so one would think it would be very easy to make big changes. The grassroots changes that I am aiming for take a lot of time, but with the support of the politicians it could be achieved faster.

People are telling me not to go into politics - what they don’t see is that what we are doing every time we voice our concerns is politics. Every day I am being political, doing a cleanup is political. This fear of a good person going into politics has to stop. I wish that we had all the people fighting for the environment going united into politics and making our voices heard there as well. It is much needed! We do our part out at the field, and that must continue. However, if we would find a way to combine that with being more politically active, be it in a party or just following it more closely, I am sure we would make the wheels spin faster. The politicians can’t solve world issues; people will always follow their own rules in one way or another to a certain extent. So the grassroots change has to continue to grow strong and it will - there is no way to stop that.

The politicians are humans like us and as little as we as grassroots fighters wish to be judged, same goes for them. Let’s instead all unite and do our utmost to change this country for the best and listen and respect each other. We can’t please everyone, but we can at least please the earth we are living on. Sustainability is one of the few things we all have to work on, no matter what our decisions in life are. So please use your resources sustainably and be the change you want to see.