2019 can be crucial for the World
We’re as excited as ever to be bouncing our way into 2019 and the Malta National Aquarium is extremely happy to have had the privilege of sharing wonderful moments with all our clients.
We’ve learned heaps about the environment, enjoyed discussions about Mother Nature and also, importantly, derived plans on how we can make the world a Greener, Bluer place for us and our precious future destinations.
Sharing discussions and hosting workshops enables us come up with new solutions in the fight to save our planet, and it also helps our ideas spread, especially when children are involved. They are of course our future leaders and we must do our best to support their growth and development, particularly regarding a topic that is so close to everyone’s heart.
That is the sole reason we host our activities with local schools and teachers. Teach our younger ones, start at the grassroutes of society, and let them bloom into wise trees, protecting our world together. We at the Malta National Aquarium are blessed to have a wealth of knowledge in house, as not only do our staff members come from an educational and environmental background but they all have one thing in common: a huge passion for our natural world and a thirst to spread valuable information on. We could not have had such a wide reach in spreading our message without the dedication of our caring team members. They are team Earth, and vow to keep up the fight.
This year they teamed up with various teams around the island to host clean ups where tonnes of rubbish was cleaned up, lifted from the ocean and disposed of responsibly. They were the soldiers on the field, together with the help of the loving public, who are always open minded to learn and get their hands dirty.
Together with local NGOs we’ve managed to release hundreds of newborn nursehound pups back where they belong, after being caught accidentally by local fishermen. We’ve also enjoyed giving you tips on the small, but significant changes you can make to your daily lives that can have a huge impact on our world. Well done for accepting the challenge, reducing litter, recycling plastic and reducing your carbon footprint.
Together we’ve also studied the behaviour of our wildlife, so we can see the messages they are sending us. We’ve tracked a grieving Orca, researched local jellyfish, and who can forget the story of our local turtle whose eggs hatched on our shores. We’ve also studied how seaweed can be the best solution in our battle against single use plastic. That’s an unbelievably exciting development and one we can’t wait to see grow.
Our 2019 Resolutions
While we reminisce about the tales of 2018, we now must turn the page, while keeping yesteryear’s wisdom in the forefront of our mind.
2019 is set to be a very challenging year as our world leaders continue with their own agendas. The awareness being raised by our public is ensuring the main message stays fresh: We must care for our world, and ensure rising temperatures are controlled. We now have 12 years to save Planet Earth, so urgency is important.
Our New Year Resolutions must include a huge slice of love for our planet and our wildlife, and we must continue to spread the good word.
As a team we will continue to support events such as the European Maritime Event where we will spread more awareness, organise clean ups and be a local leader in environmental care. Our collaborations with local schools will be vital here for us to increase awareness and champion the cause.
On our premises our battle against single-use plastic will continue, with more changes and enforcement planned for 2019. This is a key development here, and we are happy to have your support as we bid to rid our island of useless single use plastics.
We also wish to wage war on cigarette butts, as their impact on the environment is a direct threat to fish. We will elaborate on this in the future. Research is showing that they rival plastic as the biggest threat to marine life, so we will continue to push for a better solution to protect the world from smokers who dispose of their butts carelessly.
Our team members here have also committed to make changes to their lives. Simple ideas like domestic reverse osmosis systems helps your reduce plastic bottle use for your drinking water.
Reverse Osmosis systems in your home can have a huge positive impact on the world and will reduce the use of plastic bottles entirely.
A tool like this should be the legal standard on an island surrounded by salt water, as we are not able to drink from the taps. Installing a reverse osmosis would mean no more carrying of those heavy 6-packs of water, and importantly means that the single use plastic is cut out completely from our daily routine. Our staff members are also committed to do clean ups whenever they see litter in the street, or in the sea while diving and we can only salute such good behaviour.
In 2018 we also saw one of the best environmental solutions being distributed nationwide. We all got given organic waste containers with compostable bags for it. All boxes and bags were rolled out to every single household, meaning that the food waste is now separated from general waste in black bags. Organic waste is a power source, and we’ve also reduced the sheer amount of black bags we see on the streets through this system. It was a huge operation and one the island executed well. In 2019 we look forward to more schemes and ideas that really help the common goal: protect and help Mother Nature.
The biggest step you can now do as readers: share the main message. Spread the word to your colleagues, school-mates, friends and family. If we all pull the rope at the same time, we can make the world a much better place. Word of mouth is the best tool, and if we all become leaders in this cause, 2019 will quickly see more positive changes all around the world so this year keep our Planet in your mind as you make your New Year Resolutions!
