One million trees to be planted in ambitious afforestation project

One million trees will be planted around Malta over the next 10 years as part of a private afforestation project aimed at rehabilitating the island’s countryside.The ambitious long-term project was announced on Tuesday as a collaboration between Act, an environmental research NGO, and QLZH Foundation, the social arm of the Quicklets and Zanzi Homes real estate businesses.While details of the areas the tree-planting will focus on are scant, the project leads said they aimed to work with both public and private stakeholders to regenerate and sustainably manage abandoned or degraded land.The project will seek create ecological nature reserves, which will also serve as natural seed banks, as well as open parks and green spaces for leisure activities.All trees will be native to the Maltese islands to ensure long-term sustainability. “The project will seek to be a catalyst for collaborations. We believe the regeneration of the Maltese countryside is possible through ecological research, conscious designs and social engagement,” Act spokesman Claude Ebejer told Times of Malta. “Now more than ever we have the tools we need - from science, knowledge and expertise - that will guide us to...