Mellieħa councillor donates 100 saplings to tree-planting initiative

A Mellieħa local councillor has donated 100 trees which hunters and trappers will be planting on Sunday.

Ivan Castillo made the donation as part of an initiative led by a local hunting and trapping group, GĦKNK.“Hunters are given a bad rap,” the Nationalist Party councillor said.“The work they do here every Sunday building walls and cleaning after others is truly impressive, I am not a hunter, but I respect the work they do for the environment.”GĦKNK will be planting trees in Mellieħa’s L-Aħrax on Sunday as part of an event titled Ingawduh u Niehdu Hsiebu Flimkien.

The GĦKNK event is open to the public. People can visit the area on Sunday, plant a tree in their name for free and learn more about the NGO’s work.

L-Aħrax is often left in a poor state by campers and picnic-goers who litter and do not clean up the mess they leave behind.

Mr Castillo said that the area needed more regular monitoring. “It is time we put our money where our mouth is,” he said.“Full-time rangers are needed for dedicated areas, to enforce and protect the few areas like this which we have left”.