A group of 26 MCAST students were taken on an end-of-year field trip to a National Park in Sicily on Thursday 22 June.

The park, known as the Riserva Naturale Orientata Pantalica, Valle dell'Anapo e Torrente Cava Grande is found 40km northwest of Syracuse in the World Heritage-listed Necropoli di Pantalica.

The Necropolis is a significant Iron Age and Bronze Age site which is situated on a plateau, surrounded on three sides by two deep limestone valleys, created by the Anapo and Calcinara rivers.

The rivers support a variety of riparian habitats with relict species that are otherwise rare in the central Mediterranean region. The students are enrolled within the Institute of Applied Science and are undertaking the Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering.

The students were accompanied by their lecturers Dr Eman Calleja, Mr Juan Bonello, Dr David Perko, Ms Clare Podesta Camilleri, and a local guide from the nature group Kalura.

The reserve covers an area of almost 40 square kilometers, and harbors over 600 species of plants, 14 of which are endemic to Sicily. The national park is very popular with hikers who visit its wild and unspoilt landscape to follow the various marked walking trails crossing its territory.