Photo: CORALLO Finale Boat Trip: Held on the 22 August, this event brought together marine stakeholders, ranging from NGOs and yachting clubs to SMEs and local councils, with representatives from the CORALLO project partners.
After three years, the CORALLO project has reached its end. This Italia-Malta Interreg project was led by the University of Malta (coordinated by Prof. Alan Deidun from the Department of Geosciences) and involved six other partners from Malta and Sicily (ERA, Heritage Malta, University of Palermo, ARPA, Plemmirio MPA and CoRiSSIA) as well as an additional associate partner (MTA). It focused on promoting the sustainable visit and enjoyment of Natura 2000 sites in Malta and Sicily.
Thanks to the continuous work from Prof. Alan Deidun, with support from Dr Adam Gauci, Ms Audrey Zammit, Mr Johann Galdies, Mr Alessio Marrone, Mr Rami Mahmoud Kalfouni, Mr Henri Ringeard and Ms Rebecca-Marie Scerri from the Oceanography Malta Research Group (Department of Geosciences), it was ensured that CORALLO was promoted and presented on the most important channels and platforms of the Maltese Islands (and beyond), ranging from Television Malta and Science in the City, to encounters with HE President George Vella and the European Commission. Now that the CORALLO project has officially reached its end on 31 August 2023, these are some highlights of the activities which were carried out this summer.
- Life Under the Sea Event: Held on 18 August at the Ochre Hall at the Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Archaeological Park, this event was targeted towards children who wanted to learn more about our marine life, especially around Filfla and Qrendi.
- CORALLO Finale Boat Trip: Held on 22 August, this event brought together marine stakeholders, ranging from NGOs and yachting clubs to SMEs and local councils, with representatives from the CORALLO project partners. Not only was this event a celebration of all the work that was achieved through the project, but also an excellent opportunity to initiate a discussion on future projects.
In addition, in the month of August several interactive panels have been procured through CORALLO, destined to be installed at two Heritage Malta sites (Mdina Natural History Museum and Hagar Qim/Mnajdra visitors’ centre) and also at the Msida Campus, and which will be another tool to making underwater experiences more accessible to the public. Other tools which will also be delivered in the coming weeks include a smartphone application which will encourage young people to explore two terrestrial Natura 2000 sites, as well as a review textbook on marine alien species that have been recorded in Maltese waters and a promotional factsheet summarising the achievements of the project.
The legacy of the CORALLO project doesn’t stop here. A new capitalisation project, called CORALLO +SI (CORALLO Capitalisation Project for Smaller Islands, Natural Parks and Marine Protected Areas), has already been launched and is now underway, developing new tools focussing on the smaller islands of Malta and Sicily - in the local context these being Gozo and Comino. LED banners have been installed at the Dwejra Environmental Education Centre, and, thanks to the collaboration of the San Lawrenz Local Council, three educational snorkelling events for children were organised at Dwejra. In addition, with the collaboration of the Għajnsielem Local Council, a large holographic fan wall has been procured and will be installed at a new marine centre being developed in Għajnsielem, which will focus on the ecological importance of Comino. The final CORALLO +SI project meeting will be held in Sicily on 16 September.
Further information about the CORALLO project can be gleaned online.