Calling all Earth Heroes! Help needed to protect our trees and nature!

The children who presented the event during the inauguration of the installation.​

Our young Earth Heroes at Valletta Skolasajf worked as a collective to create a beautiful tree design that was‘planted’ within the school walls, as a reminder that trees are important for our earth. Trees are the lungs of our planet, cleaning up the air we exhale and expelling clean air!

Through the invaluable support of the Valletta Local Council, the Skolasajf Valletta team managed to create an outstanding piece of art that will remain at the Valletta Primary school as a reminder of the FES summer service, and also of the universal responsibility of every person towards the environment.

The installation was inaugurated in the presence of a number of representatives from the Valletta Local Council, from FES, and from the Valletta Primary School. They attended a short celebration where the children took all present on a short trip down memory lane, as they narrated the timeline of their work to create the tree.

L to R: Ms Pamela Schembri (FES Chairperson), Mr Keith Scicluna (Centre Coordinator), Ms Marlene Spiteri (Asst Head), Mr Marco Vella ( Asst Head), Ms Ritianne Borg Saliba (College Principal), Ms Vuctoria Spiteri (Head of School), Mr Michael Bondin (CEO FES), Mr Mark Spiteri Lucas (Valletta Councillor), Mr Justin Balzan (Programme Coordinator FES),and Ms Charlene Bonello (PER).​

Our group of youngsters, under the guidance of the Playworkers, Child Support Workers, and the Centre Coordinator, created a life-size tree made of wood, steel wire, recycled noodles, and papier-mâché.

The wood and steel wire cutting were all done by the Centre Coordinator Mr. Keith Scicluna, as it involved heavy machinery that was not safe for children to be around.  In the meantime, children brought old newspaper and magazine and started creating a papier-mâché tree skeleton.  Layer over layer, and with patience and perseverance, the tree started coming to life as the team created the tree trunk, and branches. 

​	​	​Next, they painted the tree white and then layered a second coating of blue.  Handprints were then created and cut out of wood, for the younger groups to colour them in different colours.  With the help of the Playworkers and Child Support Workers, over 300 handprints were hung on the tree. All these handprints symbolise the importance of the responsibility of every human to protect our trees and nature! Just like every one of us, each tree is unique.  That’s what makes us special, but as highlighted by this project, we create great things when we work together.  We use our talents to make every project better and working side by side towards one common goal! Earth Heroes Valletta! You are tree-mendously inspiring! Keep on protecting trees and nature, and spreading the word.  A tree-mendous thank you goes to all Valletta Skolasajf staff for their teamwork, dedication, and hard work in this project, and throughout this Skolasajf. ​