Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/470920
VII This week maltatoday, Sunday, 1 March 2015 Foresta 2000, a large afforestation project north of Mellieħa Bay, was recently in the news thanks to hunting officials who lied about access to the site and said the place is closed to the public. Well, here's putting the record straight: Foresta is neither enclosed nor was it ever intended to restrict access to people. The only restriction is to vehicular traffic, hence the presence of low rubble walls and post fences in some parts. The idea of Foresta 2000 was to re-create an area of mixed Mediterranean woodland and maquis – habitats that probably covered substantial parts of Malta before humans came on the scene – and give it back to the people and to nature, free of noise and fumes. Foresta 2000 was dreamt up by BirdLife Malta in the run-up to the Third Millennium (hence the 2000 in the name) as a gift for future generations. In short we wanted to have a place other than Buskett where people can go for a nice walk in the woods and listen to birdsong, as they do in other civilised countries. Thanks to its proximity to Għadira nature reserve, Foresta 2000 has the added benefit of lying largely within the 500m no-hunting limits. The site is managed by BirdLife, Din L-Art Helwa and PARK. Go there for a walk anytime, please do. It's peaceful, it's green and it's lovely. And it's free of charge (and, hopefully, of hunters). 443. FORESTA 2000 Green Idea of the week 346: Find out more – Join the Facebook page of the Shout - Spring hunting Out campaign - https://www.facebook.com/SpringhuntingOut Spring hunting refers to the three weeks in april when Maltese hunters are licensed to hunt with guns for two types of birds - turtle dove and quail. There are around 10,000 hunters across Malta and Gozo, who are officially allowed to shoot 11,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quail. In reality, many more birds are shot, including other types of bird that are protected by law. during this period, hunting is permitted all day, even on Sundays and public holidays. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us www.foemalta.org. You can also support us by sending a blank SMS donation on 50618070 (€4.66) or 50619223 (€11.65). Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon What is spring hunting? Valletta 2018 conference to pinpoint culturally relevant areas around Malta The Valletta 2018 Foundation's Cultural Mapping project aims to allow cultural practitioners, artists, researchers, policy makers and town planners to identify the sites and spaces of cultural rel- evance within each locality. The Valletta 2018 Foundation has launched a Call for Papers and Posters from academics and practitioners worldwide address- ing Cultural Mapping. These are to be presented at a conference titled 'Cultural Mapping: Debating Spaces and Places' to be held in Valletta on October 22 and 23. The range of papers and posters should cover both theoretical and methodological approaches, and practical examples of the issues and challenges faced by research- ers and practitioners in the field. Cultural Mapping: Debating Spaces and Places, is the second annual Valletta 2018 International Conference on Cultural Relations in Europe and the Mediterranean. The conference will explore Cultural Mapping in Europe and the Mediterranean and is linked to the Cultural Mapping project: a process to generate information and analysis on culture use and practice in public and publicly-ac- cessible spaces in Malta and Gozo. The project is at an advanced stage and a website with geographical data on all towns and villages will be launched in April. The Valletta 2018 Founda- tion's Cultural Mapping project is the first exercise of this kind to be carried out within the local context and aims to allow cultural practitioners, artists, researchers, policy makers and town planners to identify the sites and spaces of cultural relevance within each locality. The objective of this confer- ence is to bring together academ- ics and practitioners worldwide, with a specific focus on European and Mediterranean countries/ regions; to debate cultural map- ping and its implications within a Euro-Mediterranean context; to share knowledge and develop a better understanding of cultural mapping practices; to encour- age a thorough investigation of how cultural mapping exercises can be utilised as a tool for policy makers and cultural practitioners; to promote cooperation between researchers and operators with regards to cultural mapping; and to foster debate over the long- term legacy of cultural mapping exercises. The conference is being organ- ised by the Valletta 2018 Founda- tion in collaboration with the Cen- tre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra. All interested academics, re- searchers, PhD students and prac- titioners are invited to submit, by email, a paper proposal (abstract) of around 400 words by no later than 27 March 2015 to research@ valletta2018.org. Detailed guidelines for submis- sion are available on the Valletta 2018 Foundation website (www. valletta2018.org). For further enquiries, kindly contact the Foun- dation on 21242018 or research@ valletta2018.org Participants at the 2014 conference Dialogue in the Med: Exploring Identity through Networks