Japanese students visiting Malta as part of an educational and cultural school trip have left a positive mark after participating in a tree planting activity at Birzebbuga’s Gnien San Gorg. Kindai High School in Osaka, Japan have been organizing annual trips to Malta since 2004 as part of an educational partnership with EC English Language School and Saint Martin’s College, Swatar. Through this program, Japanese students are able to attend English language lessons organized by EC School while also taking part in cultural integration classes with local students at St Martin’s College.

The students were welcomed by Project Green CEO Steve Ellul and the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Birzebbuga. Addressing the international guests Steve Ellul explained the importance of young people taking an active role in safeguarding the natural environment for future generations. He also commended this initiative as he emphasized how exchanges like these are beneficial for society as they give a better insight to the participants and locals about various cultural differences leading to a more inclusive society. Ellul expressed his gratitude towards Kindai High School in Osaka and EC and Saint Martin’s College for choosing an environmental initiative to leave a positive mark.

This is not the first time that Kindai students have planted trees in Malta, with previous students also participating in such activity during past visits to commemorate their stay in Malta. Over the many years students from Kindai and EC have planted over 200 indigenous and endemic Maltese trees and shrubs. This time the students planted a number of African Tamarisk (Bruka) Trees and Chaste Trees (Ghadib) both of which are indigenous to the Maltese Islands and typically grow along coastal areas.

“We recognize 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, which is why we encourage students to give back more to the local community than they take”, explained EC Study Tours Manager Luke Bonello. He also explained that this tree planting initiative supports the language school’s wider vision of sustainability saying that “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”. This Earth Day EC will be organizing a global clean up, where all their schools worldwide will be participating by visiting public spaces and removing waste and debris.

Following the tree planting activity the Mayor of Birzebbuga invited the students to explore the village where they walked along the promenade from St George’s Bay to Pretty Bay.