Minister meets participating students

Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino has visited St Aloysius College in Birkirkara to see the progress of the BOV St Aloysius College Tree Planting Project. Mr Pullicino was accompanied by the students participating in the project, coordinator Michel Spiteri, College Rector Fr Patrick Magro SJ, and Bank of Valletta CO Michael Borg Costanzi.

The project, now in its seventh year, is a collaboration between Bank of Valletta, St Aloysius College and the Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry. A group of around 60 students are engaged in the process of growing trees – making their own compost, collecting and sowing seeds, watering the saplings and transplanting them into larger pots once they start growing. The trees are then passed on to the Ministry to be used in various embellishment projects in Malta and Gozo.

“This year, we are seeing the third and fourth generation of students participating in this project and are delighted to see the continued interest of the students, year after year” said Mr Spiteri. “We are proud to note that some students who participated in the early stages of the project and have now graduated from the college regularly check on the progress and also visit the places where the saplings they helped to grow have been planted”.

“This project combines an educational aspect while increasing awareness about the environment, two of the main pillars of the bank’s Community Programme, said Mr Borg Costanzi. “The environment is a main concern for the bank and we are constantly seeking new opportunities to assist the local community in the protection and enhancement of our natural habitat.”

The participating students then briefed the Minister on the practical and theoretical aspects of the project and illustrated samples of the saplings that will eventually become fully-grown trees.