The Ghadira and Simar nature reserves are now open for school visits until May the 31st of next year, the conservation organisation BirdLife Malta has announced.

Communications Coordinator for BirdLife Malta, Marija Schranz said "Both Ghadira and Simar are home to much flora and fauna, apart from hosting various creatures, from chameleons masking themselves with the environment, to beetles trudging along, to multi-coloured butterflies, to rabbits which pop up every now and then to the delight of the children. Naturally, they are also a pull for birds flying over the Maltese islands and have hosted various species in the past, from herons, to flamingos, to spoonbills."

During the visits, students follow the nature trails around the reserve accompanied by BirdLife's field teachers who educate them about what they are directly observing, drawing their attention to the endemic plants as they progress along the trail, and teaching them about how such nature reserves are managed and kept alive. The children are also taken to the bird hides from where they can watch the birds using appropriate equipment found on site.

Primary schools participating in Dinja Wahda (One World), BirdLife's education programme, will gain points by visiting these nature reserves. Through Dinja Wahda students learn about nature conservation and also carry out activities to help the environment. The school classes that participate in Dinja Wahda gain points assigned to the actions they carry out and at the end of the scholastic year an award is given to the school, depending on how many points have been collected. A visit to one of the two nature reserves is scheduled into the list of possible activities within the Dinja Wahda programme and benefits the class 100 points within the scheme.

In order to visit the reserves, teachers should book a visit by calling BirdLife on 21-347644/5 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. All visits last between two and a half to three hours and the maximum group size per single visit is 30 persons. Students can bring their cameras along with them. The reserves are accessible and the visits can be carried out in Maltese or English.

More information can be found on the BirdLife website at www.birdlifemalta.org....