Following the successful event of Mapfre's Global Volunteering Day held in October, the company continued to strengthen its commitment towards environmental sustainability by teaming up with BirdLife Malta in order to aid restoration of sand dune habitats.

Josianne Briffa, chief Compliance officer of Mapfre MSV Life, organised this event in collaboration with BirdLife Malta.

Established since 1965, BirdLife Malta is an environmental organisation that has long been committed to the protection of wild birds and their habitats. A non-governmental organisation (NGO), BirdLife Malta also forms part of the BirdLife International network, whose ongoing objectives are to work towards the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainability of natural resources.

Currently, BirdLife Malta is responsible for managing four nature reserves, running a series of environmental education programmes and managing several EU Life-funded research projects on Malta's seabirds. The NGO is continuously working to limit illegal hunting across the Maltese Islands as well as enhancing the overall protection for the environment.

In November, Mapfre teamed up with BirdLife Malta in an event that focused on the restoration of sand dune habitats. In the past, a nature reserve in Mellieha was previously planted with Acacia trees, a non-indigenous and invasive tree species. In light of this, BirdLife Malta has been working hard towards the removal of these invasive trees over the years.

Since the Acacia trees have been present at the nature reserve for a number of years, this resulted in the production of a lot of leaf litter. While leaf litter is normally somewhat beneficial to the soil, in this case the substrate is sand, which needs to be exposed and cleaned up for proper regeneration. Mapfre volunteers helped in the process of gathering this leaf litter and sieving the sand.

The work carried out at the nature reserve was tough but also rewarding. Going forward, Mapfre Malta will continue to engage in activities that promote environmental sustainability and the restoration of natural habitats.