Mellieha Bay will tomorrow be honoured with the Award of Quality, in preparation for becoming certified as a Blue Flag beach over the coming months.

Some 300 children will be participating in organised activities and they will also be able to release turtles which have recovered from injuries.

The beach management model which has been adopted by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) at both St George’s Bay and Bugibba Perched Beach, strives to maximise public safety and comfort. Substantial effort has also been made in order to ensure that the management is based on sound environmental principles. A number of environmental and educational activities organised at the beaches every summer continue to prove MTA’s commitment towards environmental awareness.

Following the success achieved through various Blue Flag Awards for these beaches, the MTA extended similar services to Golden Bay and Mellieha Bay, both of which are situated in the limits of Mellieha. For this reason, ‘Come Fly a Kite’ was the first event that opened the summer activity season for 2010. It was recently held at Ghadira Bay in full collaboration with the Mellieha Local Council, Nature Trust Malta, FEE’s Ekoskola and Mellieha primary school.

The event saw the participation of 1,200 young students, parents, and a substantial number of school teachers and school coordinators. The MTA assembled an ecological exhibition and distributed educational material to the teachers and coordinators. This enabled them to follow up on environmental activities during class-work. Three Nature Trust representatives assisted MTA staff in conveying environmental messages as well as better awareness on the Blue Flag Award Scheme. The children prepared reader-friendly slogans on nature which they posted on signs in the sand.

Parliamentary Secretaries Mario de Marco and Clyde Puli, as well as Mellieha mayor Robert Cutajar, were present for the event.