Education

We strongly believe in sharing all our work with the public and keeping everyone informed about what it is that we do. The reason is that all we do has a direct impact on wider society, our immediate environment and the planet at large – no one is excluded and no one can afford to remain unaware of the developments in this important sector.

In this space we highlight everything that the EWA has done and continues to do through GHAJN, in the hopes that eventually, everyone in Malta will take responsibility for their energy and water footprint.

GHAJN opened its doors in April 2017 with one key aim: to educate the people of Malta about the challenges facing the water sector on the islands. The centre supports national educational initiatives on water management and conservation, while offering a community-friendly environment in the Nigret neighbourhood in Rabat.

The GHAJN Water Conservation Awareness Centre has become a national information point, raising awareness about the importance of water and how it can be used sustainably in the face of the emerging environmental challenges that Malta faces.

The Centre uses audio-visual presentations, augmented reality technology and interactive games to convey its message in a fun and interactive manner. The presentations and installations also feature themes concurrent with the present national curriculum to support the learning of visiting school groups.

The GHAJN National Water Conservation Awareness Centre leads the way in sustainability. As one of the first zero-water buildings in the Maltese Islands, the Centre sources almost all its water from water saved and reused at the site. To minimise water demand, special fittings are installed both inside the Centre and surrounding it to reduce wastage from actions like toilet flushing. All glass panes at the Centre have solar filming, which naturally cools the inside of the building without the need for air conditioning, and photovoltaic panels on the roof generate renewable energy.

The Centre also features a rainwater harvesting reservoir with an approximate capacity of 500m³ to collect rainwater runoff, which is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the grounds. All the plants, shrubs and trees found on the GHAJN site are indigenous to the Maltese Islands, providing natural shelter to the local fauna and requiring minimum watering throughout the year.

The GHAJN Centre has launched a series of online educational resources about water conservation and sustainability. Below you can find a series of short virtual lessons aimed at primary school students (aged 7 to 10 years old), which feature short sketches involving puppets. These can be used for at-home learning or as a resource for teachers.

The GHAJN Centre has launched a series of online educational resources about water conservation and sustainability. Below you can find a series of short virtual lessons aimed at primary school students (aged 7 to 10 years old), which feature short sketches involving puppets. These can be used for at-home learning or as a resource for teachers.

The first lesson explains the cycle that natural water goes through on the Maltese Islands. 

The second lesson tackles the subjects of groundwater management and water production in Malta. 

The third lesson looks at the water used for the production of food and other assets used in our daily lives.

The fourth lesson discusses water used in domestic settings and agriculture. 

The course aims to:

• Create a positive impact on businesses by raising awareness on their role in sustainability.

• Present concepts and issues faced by the corporate sector in sustainability.

• Offer ideas on sustainability solutions.

• Instil behavioural change across the corporate sector.

• Promote employee wellbeing.

The learning outcomes of the course are:

• To evaluate how businesses can contribute to the process of change towards sustainable development.

• To identify challenges and opportunities for improved sustainability in the workplace.

• To highlight principles of good practice in the workplace for sustainable development.

• To devise a plan of action that reduces the impact of human activities on the environmental (water/carbon) footprint.

The GHAJN Centre’s educational programme offers tours, activities and learning booklets to primary and middle school students based on school syllabus themes.

Interactive activities include:

Students create clouds and make rain. The activity encourages the youngsters to pay attention to where the rain is falling and which environmental elements require rainwater to thrive. The second part of the activity focuses on urbanisation. Once cities are created within their water cycle, people will start experiencing floods. Students are made aware that if you remove buildings and plant trees in their place, the problem of flooding will be alleviated.

This activity focuses on the conservation of natural water resources and presents Malta’s existing water management practices. The Centre’s educator then introduces a game with four activities in which students are required to:

• Stop the rainwater runoff collected in a cistern from becoming polluted.
• Protect an aqueduct from attacking ‘monsters’.
• Deliver a water bucket from a spiera to the thirsty knight through a maze.
• Drill shafts to enable water to flow from a spring gallery.

This activity looks at the efficient use of water in the home and introduces a water superhero, who tackles a number of challenges to save water. Students must help the water hero fix tap aerators, volume reducers and efficient showers in homes and react to other water-wasting situations.

This activity focuses on the provision of water services and starts with an outline by the centre’s educator on the different ways Malta ensures water availability in our homes and treats our wastewater. In a game that follows, students find a map of a water production and distribution system and are faced with eight management decisions to ensure the supply of water and the treatment of wastewater. Working in teams, the students must consider cost, energy requirements and water demand priority to solve the challenge.

During this activity students shall learn how to identify different types of renewable and non-renewable sources to produce energy.  They shall also learn how Malta generates its energy so far. 

During this activity students are made aware of the importance of electrical appliances in our lives.  They shall also learn the importance of energy labels and how they help us to be more energy efficient and the importance of choosing wisely before purchasing the right appliance.  Students shall also become aware of the difference between energy efficiency and energy conservation.

This activity begins with a tour of GHAJN’s active weather station. Students are shown the different instruments (rain gauge, radiometer, wind vane, pressure meter etc) and are given access to the data system through tablets, where they can download monitoring data and compare readings from different instruments. The activity culminates with the students presenting weather data using different types of graphs.