Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1435356
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 DECEMBER 2021 9 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 791. Salina Nature Reserve PEOPLE have meddled with the Salina area for thousands of years, so it's impossible today to know what it looked like orig- inally. There was certainly plenty of marshland, and we know the shoreline was hundreds of metres further inland than it is today. But farmers long ago drained the land and turned the ar- ea into farmland, the Knights built the saltpans right inside the estuary, and the Qawra conurbation smothered the rest of the surrounding area. Yet, incredibly, some rare habitat still hangs on – small patches of saltmarsh, reedbed and garrigue, all home to an interesting f lora and fauna; the saltpans themselves are a magnet for waterbirds and a cloud of gulls. Now that the site is under BirdLife management, we will ensure the area realises its full potential and increase its biodversity. Go visit, it's free. Victor Falzon, Aron Tanti www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 683: Find out more – www.foemalta.org/2101-2/ Climate Campaigner (Ref:2102) Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www.foemalta.org/donate Don't miss this Santa's Park 2021 Date: 4-5 December Place: Splash & Fun Water Park Splash & Fun Water Park have organised a Santa's Park on the first weekend of December for some magical family time. Photos with Santa can be taken for an optional 2 euro donation to Puttinu Cares. Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member SHE Date: 10 December Place:Astra Theatre SHE - a contemporary dance show choreographed and artistically directed by Angelo Bonello. Explore the alluring nature of femininity through such complex emotions portrayed through the art of dance. A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK Newcomer Olivia Rodrigo the top spot globally for the most streamed artists of 2021 with her song drivers license on spotify. Legendary US composer and songwriter Stephen Sondheim has died aged 91. His lawyer told the New York Times that Sondheim passed away on Friday at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. Her punk-pop anthem Good 4U emerging as the most- played song on both services in the UK. He was a titan of musical theatre who turned the unlikeliest of subjects into entertainment landmarks.