Volunteering with an environmental NGO in Malta

Bonjou,

I am Martha, 19 years old and have been spending my ESK volunteer year in Malta since August 2024.

Even though Malta is even smaller than Dresden, there is a lot to discover. From sea, cliffs and hot summer sun to full, southern towns with traditional colorful boats in the harbor to almost daily fireworks in summer that can be heard all over the island. And even now I am still finding new places.

Together with 11 other volunteers, I work at BirdLife Malta (BLM), an environmental NGO that is part of the international BirdLife network and deals with bird and nature conservation in Malta. Several nature reserves are managed by BLM, but they are all quite small. The organization also works against illegal activities during and outside the hunting and trapping season, as bird hunting is a long-standing Maltese tradition. There is also a rehabilitation center for injured birds in one of the reserves.

During my third week in Malta, I was able to witness the release of a flamingo that had previously been rescued from inappropriate husbandry and had to be nursed back to health for a long time. This is still one of my biggest highlights.

As there is little wild nature in Malta due to the heat and urbanization, there is also little connection with it in society.

That is why BirdLife Malta has an Education Department, where I work as an Education Assistant. The aim is to teach children about the environment at pre-school age, which in most cases is not done by schools or their parents. My tasks are very diverse. On the one hand, I work in the office and take care of bookings for school visits to our reserves. On the other hand, I lead the school visits for the youngest pupils myself, run workshops in schools together with my colleagues and look after our stands at larger events or markets. For me, the school visits are a personal favorite, which I wouldn’t have expected beforehand. But when I’m told by a five-year-old birdwatcher that he can even see South America with binoculars, or when a six-year-old pulls me from plant to plant to show me something or excitedly asks me questions, it brings me so much joy to see how enthusiastic the children are.

Malta welcomed me in the hottest month, but despite the heat and dryness, I was immediately charmed by its cute colorful balconies, bright stone buildings and sea views. There are many beautiful spots on cliffs or beaches to admire sunsets and at every corner you stumble upon a church or a cat. I also find it so convenient that you can be anywhere in the country in 2.5 hours at most. And that’s only because the buses are almost always late, and you often have to let buses pass because they are too full. You can get wonderfully crispy “pastizzi” pastries everywhere here for a small price and in six months’ time I will probably miss them just as much as the bitter orange herbal drink “Kinnie”, my friends, who are also volunteers with BirdLife Malta, and enjoying the sea, the sun and the view of the capital Valletta on Manoel Island after work.