Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1065920
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 DECEMBER 2018 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT OAKS are queens among trees: their size, spread, age and the life they support makes them special. Our native oak is the holm or evergreen oak, so called because it keeps its foli- age all year round. The leaves are small and stiff, dark glossy green and the young leaves often have toothed edges, rather like holly. Around this time of year, holm oaks (M. ballut) shed masses of ripe acorns which, in other countries, pro- vide food for wild boar, deer, squirrels, etc. Here most acorns simply return to earth, enriching the shady soil with excellent humus in which grow a variety of wild mushrooms. Inciden- tally, acorns are also very easy to grow. So why not do your bit for the planet: collect a handful, plonk them in a pot, wet the soil and watch them sprout and grow into young trees? After a year go plant them somewhere: if left unmolested, they should outlive you by a few centuries! Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 544: Give your friends and family a wonderful gift that's good for the planet www.foemalta.org/blog/christmashampers18/ Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon 544 - HAPPY HOLIDAYS 640. HOLMOAK GEBLA, meaning 'rock' or 'stone' in Maltese, is a joint exhibition by contemporary Malta-based art- ists Andrew Borg and Rune Bo Jakobsen. Malta, referred to affectionately as the Rock, is the subject of this collection of recent city and landscape paintings by these two fine artists. Rock is the stuff of which Malta is made. It's un- der our feet as we walk and our homes are made from it. It supports, shelters and protects Malta's people in its distinctive architecture and defines the natural landscape in the unifying and har- monious palette synonymous with this beautiful country. "Malta shines bright on the worldwide stage thanks to the caliber of artists who make the Rock their home, with Borg and Jakobsen being two prime examples," said Bob Bahr, writer for Plein- Air Magazine, USA " This exhibition shows why." The exhibition open tonight and will run until 6 January 2019 at Allura – Malta Open Art Studios in Old Treasury Street, Valletta. Gebla – Paintings from the Rock UCL students conducting a study on the Chapel of Nativity in Fort St Angelo ACCORDING to a collaboration agreement between Heritage Malta and the University College London (UCL), a group of students from the UCL Institute for Sustainable Herit- age, have presented a preliminary study about the Chapel of Nativity in Fort St Angelo. The aim of this study is to conduct a risk assess- ment about the conditions which will impact this historical building, should it be opened to the public. The final report of this research will be presented in April 2019. During this presentation, Heritage Malta and the University College London have extended this collaboration for a further three years, fol- lowing 15 years from the initial agreement. Moreover, it was announced that next year's research project will focus on the Domvs Ro- mana in Rabat, Malta.