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| That's a me - pretty chuffed with myself - what's not to be happy about ... life is good! |
The other day my parents joined me for an activity organised
by the Sports and Social Committee of the office. The event was to consist of a Tree Planting
Activity at Foresta 2000 in Mellieha. I
had known for a while about the event but I couldn’t commit my participation
because dad was still recovering all too slowly from his heart surgery and
complications to his lungs that followed.
A few days before the activity I asked him if he was upto spending some time
outdoors and he said he was game. He had
only been discharged from hospital a week after receiving treatment due to the
lung flooding issue that had crept up on him.
A short history on Natura 2000: the Ridge which is being forested in the past years was extensively used and altered by activities with detriment of the
natural environment and the aesthetic qualities it once held. The project run by a not for profit organisation
in conjunction with a government entity with funds from the European Union aims to tract Mediterranean woodland in
order to encourage biodiversity and to update access to the site which can be
enjoyed by the general public. The area
is around 300,000 square meters and the project was initiated in May 2002.
The caretaker who is a volunteer from Din L-Art Helwa the mentioned NGO explained that trees are planted yearly and on occasion have to be replanted,
since incidents took place in the past where persons struck down and destroyed
hundreds if not thousands of trees – (stupid people with simple minds who think
they can get what they want by destroying nature that belongs to the nation). Regretfully not all perpetrators where caught
but some were and they even got convicted resulting in them paying a small fine
for the crimes committed. Too small a
fine if you ask me!!!
Saturday is usually a strictly go diving day for me but I do take pride in doing something for others and why not learn some gardening experience while I'm at it.
On the day the weather wasn’t very nice, it was a windy day with dark rain clouds looming overhead but luckily the location chosen by the caretaker of the forestation project was somewhat sheltered and rain never happened. the three of us got into my car and made our way to Mellieha bay where we met the caretaker whom we were already acquainted with since
he had guided a similar event organised by the office a few months back. However this time we where there not just to
walk and learn but also to give up our time and help the gentleman plant some
threes – 40 baby trees where ready in their pots waiting for the eager
volunteers to home them in their new home for their rest of their tree lives.
Dad recalled that he had done a similar activity while he
was still attending Primary School at another location known as Mizieb ... who
know how big dad’s tree grew for the last 55 years !!!
With spade in hand some of us worked on the holes that the
volunteer had prepared for us, while others teamed up to set the plant and
cover the hole.
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| Mum, the Volunteer & Dad |
I found this time to be a bonding experience with both my
parents, notwithstanding that I was in the company of my colleagues and their
families, dad and I had our close and intimate moments which I will
treasure. We often do outdoorsie stuff
especially in Wardija but since the first surgery and the complications thereon
this was the first time my dad was feeling like his old self at last.
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| Mum |
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