EkoSkola Malta

Edible Wild Plants in Malta

A Foraging Guide Friends of the Earth Malta (FoEM) are working hard to raise awareness and foster a greater appreciation of the wild edible flora present in the Maltese archipelago. The importance of wild plants is regrettably often overlooked with a diverse array of plant life frequently dismissed as just weeds, or ħaxix ħażin. In line with their commitment to food sovereignty and ensuring that the food that we eat is healthy and ecologically sound they have prepared this foraging guide to help you on your adventures in finding nutritious new ingredients close to home. The following are some of the benefits derived from wild edible plants: Wild plants are highly nutritious, a good source of several vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants, and phytochemicals which protect one’s body from ageing and pollutants. Consumption of wild plants is economically sound. Being self-propagating, growing unaided, and fully adapted to our local climate and soils, they do not require expensive irrigation systems, substantial amounts of water, chemical treatments, construction of greenhouses, and long hours of manual labour in order to flourish. The best thing of course is that, unlike the produce sold in supermarkets, they are free. Unlike some conventionally grown produce (and unless one picks them from fields where such chemicals are used or from the sides of polluted roads), wild plants are not treated with or exposed to large amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Taking a walk to forage in nature is a therapeutic activity, helping one to de-stress and nurture a spiritual bond with the land and the wildlife that it supports. Identifying areas of the countryside with high concentrations of wild edible plants creates an incentive for the legal protection of such areas from development. More info about the plants and foraging rules can be found in the link below.

A Consumer’s Guide to Reducing Pollution

A surprising amount of pollution starts at home. The car you drive, the household and personal care products you buy, the chemicals and equipment you use to keep your lawn and garden in shape all contribute to water and air pollution. But there are consumer choices you can make that will reduce your environmental footprint.  Click on the link and refer to subtitles below… How to Prevent Air Pollution: The Car You Drive Household Products Energy Use Preventing Water Pollution: Pesticide and Fertilizer Alternatives to Prevent Water Pollution Reducing Landfill Waste 25 Things You Can Do to Reduce Pollution (with infographic)  

Follow Up SDG 3 – Kellimni.com (Year 9 – Year 11)

If you have something on your mind and you are not sure who you trust, who can listen to you right now, or who will understand you log into http://kellimni.com/

My Green Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to an Eco-Friendly Kitchen

Why Go Green in the Kitchen?   The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in any home. It’s often the beating heart of a household, where people eat, socialize, relax, and congregate. With such a vital role, it should come as no surprise that your choices, knowingly or not, can have an environmental impact. More and more people are making efforts to ‘go green’ at home. By this, we mean making conscious efforts to make their home more eco-friendly. There are many reasons to so; it’s good for the environment, it can save you money, and it can have positive impacts on your health. From recycling to switching to energy-efficient appliances, you can make your kitchen a sustainable place by implementing a few simple changes.

Heat Wave Safety

Learn how to stay safe during a heat wave and how to treat heat-related illness like heat exhaustion. In recent years, excessive heat has caused more deaths than all other weather events, including floods. A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessive heat, generally 10 degrees or more above average, often combined with excessive humidity. read more in the link below

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget

Dr Peter Hinz, author of this article contacted EkoSkola Malta personally to share his article. Here it goes… Food can be expensive. There’s no doubt about that. However, it doesn’t mean that only healthy food is expensive. Surprisingly, junk foods are costlier at most times than healthy options. You may not agree with this if you’ve never taken time to consider healthy options that you can take on a budget. It all boils down to two key things; preparation and decision-making. To read more please go to weblink below.

EkoSkola Newsletter – St Michael School, Santa Venera – Ħarġa 21

EkoSkola Newsletter – St Michael School, St. Venera – Ħarġa 18

Eating healthy does not mean spending more on food…

The Simple Guide to Healthy Living on a Budget by Chelsea Brierton Afraid a healthier lifestyle won’t fit in your budget? Good news: there are many strategies for making nutrition and fitness more affordable. Many of these strategies boil down to having a plan, doing your research, and making small lifestyle changes that can have a big impact down the line. At The Simple Dollar, we believe healthy living doesn’t have to be at odds with living within your means. Keeping a long-term view is the key to making smart financial decisions — and healthy decisions, too!

17 Simple Ways to Prevent Air Pollution in Your Home

When you think of air pollution, you most likely don’t conjure up images of the inside of your home or office. But because we spend so much time indoors — especially in colder weather — keeping the air quality as clean as possible in your home, car and workplace is important for your health. And, unfortunately, we bring most of those pollutants indoors ourselves. This site was suggested by Peyton Vogel and her friends.

Use of Bicycle Helmets

Even if wearing a bicycle helmet may not be mandatory where you live, it is worthwhile knowing that hundreds of people are injured or killed every year in bicycle accidents, and many would have survived or been less severely injured had they worn a helmet. In fact, according to some statistics, roughly 1/3 of the 500k+ injuries from bicycle accidents each year are to the face and the head. So please read through this page and decide for yourself…

Food Waste Action Plan for Malta

Following the set up of a food waste working group by the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate change, a report with findings and proposals has been published.

Consumer Classroom – also in Maltese…

Consumer Classroom is a new collaborative website for teachers about consumer education. It provides free, high quality resources for teachers along with interactive and collaborative tools to help teachers prepare lesson plans to share with students and other teachers from across the EU. Sign Up now on www.ConsumerClassroom.eu

Awareness on Hunger in countries

A highlight video from Sesame Street’s newest primetime special, Growing Hope Against Hunger.

The Enviromental Effects of Smoking

What are cigarettes made up from?… Air pollution from cigarette smoke… Cigarette related littering… Tobacco hurts people and their environment… Cigarette filters – silent killers… want to learn more?  Download the PDF document given below.  You will find more information and links about the topic.

What is Fairtrade ?

Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world.

Film: Our Daily Poison

Our Daily Poison is a new documentary from Icarus Films and is divided into three distinct but interrelated sections, challenging the conventional wisdom on our agriculture and food systems.

Sustainable Food Systems Education Guide

The education team at the Stop Community Food Centre has just released a new Sustainable Food Systems Education Guide for elementary school teachers and community educators.

EkoSkola f’Tagħna t-Tfal – Novembru 2011

The November issue is aimed to attract attention towards the consumption of local food as compared to imported food and the food miles involved. It-tieni episodju jattira l-attenzjoni dwar il-konsum ta’ ikel lokali u kemm ikel impurtat jinvolvi konsum ta’ riżorsi biex jasal Malta.

The Berenstain Bears – Too Much Junk Food – Book and Video

Mama Bear lays down the law when she notices that Papa and the cubs are getting too chubby. With the help of Dr. Grizzly’s slide show on how the body works, the Bear family makes a healthful adjustment in their diet and fitness habits. A most enjoyable introduction to good nutrition and exercise.

Kunsill Malti għall-Isports

The Kunsill Malti għall-iSport has the responsibility to promote sport, to implement Government Policy on Sport, to register Sport organisations and to establish dispute resolution structures. The KMS is the main public promoter of the health, social and economic benefits generated by sport to society.

The story of stuff

Where do things we buy come from? How are they produced? Where do they go when we throw them away? That’s the story of stuff… Also there’s the story of bottled water, the story of electronics and the story of cosmetics…

The Sun Wise Program

The SunWise Program provides a variety of educational tools for use in schools and in less formal settings. Program participants receive a “tool kit” of materials to help them teach sun-wise behavior in classrooms, community organizations, and homes. Pledge to teach about sun safety in your spring and summer activities. In an effort to raise awareness about a health issue that is largely preventable and too often ignored – skin cancer – EPA encourages you to participate in the third annual national sun safety day. Being smart in the sun is important today and every day.

Film: Big River

Following up on their documentary King Corn, the filmmakers have returned to Iowa to investigate the impact their acre of corn has had on the people and places downstream.