Japanese Exchange Students Plant Indigenous Trees And Shrubs In Birżebbuġa
Students visiting Malta from Japan have “left a positive mark” in Birżebbuġa by participating in a tree planting activity in Saint George’s Park.
With the help of students from their language school they planted African Tamarisk Bruka and Chaste Għadib trees both of which are indigenous to Maltese soils, growing primarily along coastlines.
The students are on exchange in Malta from Kindai High School in Osaka. Their stay here was organised through Nexsis Japan, an agency which has coordinated annual trips to Malta since 2004 – in partnership with Swatar’s Saint Martin’s College and EC English Language School.
For several years, Kindai High School students – along with other EC students – have planted over 300 trees and shrubs in Malta. Over the years, a wide variety of both indigenous and endemic species have been planted in Maltese soils through this initiative.
Healthy, fully grown Tamarisk (left) and Chaste (right) trees
Birżebbuġa Mayor and Deputy Mayor Scott Camilleri and Josepha Busuttil along with Project Green CEO Steve Ellul welcomed students to the park to kickstart the planting project.
Project Green has been criticised by some for proposing superficial solutions to deep rooted systemic problems. Despite the validity of some of these criticisms, there are undeniable benefits – however small – to greening Malta through initiatives such as that undertaken by Kindai High School, Saint Martin’s College and EC students.
At the outset of the tree planting event, Ellul discussed how important it was for students and young people to actively engage with safeguarding the natural environment – for themselves and for future generations.
Ellul added that exchanges like these are also socially beneficial. He argued that promoting cross cultural exposure could reveal cultural differences – from which people can learn how those gaps can be bridged, which could lead to a more interesting and inclusive society.
Despite the clear environmental benefits of planting indigenous trees and shrubs, the atmospheric emissions caused by travelling across the world might offset the benefits of planting trees.
In response to this argument, EC Study Tours Manager Luke Bonello answered, “We recognise that international student mobility can have a costly impact on the environment, especially due to the long distances that most of our students travel to reach our destinations. This is why we encourage students to give back more to the local community than they take.”
Bonello added that EC Language Schools across the world demonstrate their commitment to a wider vision of sustainability through initiatives well beyond this one.
“We’re combatting single use plastic by ensuring that every young learner receives a reusable water bottle which can be filled at our centres, and we’re adopting, wherever possible, digital-first approaches. Our operations in North America have gone completely paperless.”
Another of the EC schools’ global initiatives will be on display this coming Earth Day, when EC schools will coordinate students’ cleanups of public spaces across the planet.
Through this work, they hope to continue to ensure that “students give back more to the local community than they take.”
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