A workforce of 64 people will today carry out a widespread clean-up of Mellieħa Bay area and some habitat improvement work within BirdLife Malta’s Għadira Nature Reserve.

Removing rubbish and tidying up the area is the goal of the 64-person-strong workforce consisting of staff members from Mellieħa Holiday Centre, BirdLife Malta, and FTZD, a foundation within the Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection, whose aim it is to present Malta as a tourist destination of the highest standard.

“We will be working with FTZD and BirdLife Malta to carry out litter picking from the area from Mellieħa Holiday Centre to Mellieħa Bay Hotel,” said Mellieħa Holiday Centre CEO, Hamdi Abu Rub.

He added: “Our main goal is to clean the stretch of road in Għadira Bay as well as helping BirdLife Malta to regenerate the sand dunes within the nature reserve.”

Mellieħa Holiday Centre will also be sending two groups of approximately 15 staff members into the BirdLife Malta sanctuary in Għadira Bay to help remove alien tree species and, in the process, improve the habitat.

The staff of Mellieħa Holiday Centre will be joined by four staff members from FTZD and approximately six staff members from BirdLife Malta.

Established in the early 1980s, Għadira Nature Reserve, a Natura 2000 site, was the first rehabilitated wetland of the Maltese Islands. BirdLife Malta, the oldest and largest Maltese environmental NGO, aims to protect birds and their habitats and educate people about environmental issues. These organisations have been the brains behind setting up the reserve. Due to the dry climate in Malta, permanent areas of inland water are rare, making the Għadira wetlands an extremely important habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Ever since, the site has been carefully managed for the well-being of the flora and fauna species that inhabit the reserve. This work has resulted in new breeding bird species in Malta, including the black-winged stilt and the little ringed plover.