Facing the other children in the group with a shy smile on her face, she lifted the die high and threw it. The die bounced and rolled to settle face up, showing roots and the number 10. Her smile grew bigger as the other children in her group let out peals of excitement. The teacher explained the importance of roots while they added up the points – her throw left them several points ahead of the other teams.
In this game, Nice Dice, child-ren learn all about trees: how bark is home to insects and fungi, how roots dig deep into the ground seeking nourishment and water, providing a habitat for many creatures while taking in the nourishment needed for growth. This is just one of the games that primary school children play as part of BirdLife Malta’s environmental education programme Dinja Wahda, which is being supported by Bank of Valletta for the second year running. Children also put their learning into practice, planting trees in their school grounds or at afforestation sites, grading their school for the number of energy-saving bulbs used and visiting nature reserves to see, hear and smell nature surrounding them.
Some of the classes also build and put up bird tables as one of the activities in the programme. Filling these tables is a task much enjoyed by the children, excitement peaking when birds actually visit the table to enjoy a gourmet meal of seeds and whatever else has been put down. One class actually went further and baked a special “bird pudding”, doing that little bit extra to attract birds to the table.
Children sometimes come to school talking about what they do to protect the environment at home: hounding dad into finally buying those energy-saving bulbs, turning off running water while brushing teeth and taking showers instead of baths. Most of them have also become serious advocates of recycling.
Through Dinja Wahda,
educational staff have seen that there is an ever growing sense of environmental responsibility in our children, a responsibility that is shared by Bank of Valletta. This sense of responsibility is being put into practice by the children, who are taking pains to save energy and water, to not pollute, and to give something back to nature. Their enthusiasm and initiative deserved support and that is where the Dear Minister event comes in. Through Dear Minister, children will be able to raise their environmental concerns by writing directly to, and meeting, the Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs George Pullicino.
The idea spread like wildfire amongst the schools, and Minister Pullicino himself seemed pleased with the idea. Children were soon captivated by the Dear Minister letters they were penning, with parents, siblings and friends providing invaluable counsel for their recommendations.
The event came sooner than expected. Children were visibly excited about meeting Minister Pullicino and raising their concerns with him. It wasn’t long before the chosen representatives of the schools were reading their letters to the Minister. The winning letter, written by Milena Borg of Birkirkara Primary School, emphasised Milena’s and her family’s efforts at cutting down excess consumption: “We are very careful not to waste electricity and water. We now switch on the water heater only an hour before we use it. We use energy-saving bulbs and we do not leave electrical appliances on if we are not using them.”
Minister Pullicino seemed to appreciate the sentiment and, picking up on it, said: “If everyone does these little simple things, our country will be a better place to live in and everyone will be happier and healthier.”
The next scholastic year will see BirdLife Malta once again striving to impart a love and sense of responsibility for nature in our
children, through the successful Dinja Wahda programme. We hope your children will take part and enjoy this programme too.