Strongly committed to the environment: celebrating the achievements of GLOBE Malta

Malta and the United States are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations. The strong bilateral relationship is embodied this year by the US partnership with the Ministry of Education, Sports, Youth, Research and Innovation through educational exchange programs. One source of celebration is the cooperation within the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program.

GLOBE is an international science and education program, supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. entities, that enables students and the public around the world to make significant contributions to understanding the global environment through the collection of scientific data.

GLOBE’s mission is to provide future science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals with the knowledge necessary to better understand, maintain and improve Earth’s environment.

In 2007, NASA and the Ministry of Education of Malta signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote cooperation within the GLOBE programme and establish GLOBE Malta as the local arm of this prestigious international programme.

Celebrating the achievements of GLOBE Malta with representatives from the Ministry of Education and other partners.

Over the years, the GLOBE initiative in Malta has grown exponentially, contributing to increased Earth science knowledge, engagement in environmental protection and increased science achievements and careers in local schools and among citizen scientists.

Through a hands-on approach to inquiry, students engage in local research using the GLOBE Observer app and submit their findings to the GLOBE Data and Information System, which can be accessed free of charge online at the GLOBE International Database (https://www.globe.gov/). These measurements are combined with readings from automated stations to create a worldwide resource for scientific research, and some measurements serve as ground truth for NASA satellite data products (for example, clouds and soil moisture).

GLOBE Malta student measures soil temperature.

Through the GLOBE Observer mobile app, participants can measure and submit observations of things like clouds, mosquito habitat, ground and tree temperatures.

The U.S. Embassy is grateful to its many partners, especially the GLOBE Coordinator, Professor Paul Pace, who has supported GLOBE Malta from the very beginning and has grown it into one of the most popular student research programs in the environmental field.

Many schools in Malta and Gozo contribute important research data to the global GLOBE database. With 54 schools and hundreds of students from primary to tertiary level participating in GLOBE Malta, it has significantly increased the engagement of students, especially girls, in scientific and environmental experiments and generated so much interest from parents and other adults that many of them have joined GLOBE as citizen scientists.

GLOBE Malta schools recognised for their contribution to the LEAF programme.

It is great to see how passionately young students are involved in the GLOBE project and to witness their concern for the environmental challenges we are currently facing.

Heartfelt congratulations go to Ramona Mercieca, Deputy Coordinator of GLOBE Malta, whose tireless efforts in engaging students in GLOBE programmes have been recognised by GLOBE International Leaders who have appointed her as a GLOBE International Mentor-Trainer.

Recognition of GLOBE Malta’s achievements also came in 2024 through the National STEM Awards, organised by the National STEM Engagement Working Group and Esplora. Pace and Mercieca received the prestigious STEM Community Project Award for the GLOBE Malta Europe Direct Gozo Air Quality Campaign.

Paul Pace and Ramona Mercieca, on behalf of GLOBE Malta, present the STEM Community Project Award.

As part of the U.S. Embassy’s commitment to environmental protection, U.S. Embassy officials, together with several GLOBE schools in Gozo, recognized students and teachers who participated in the Learning about Ecosystems and Forests (LEAF) Awards Program by contributing to the GLOBE database by measuring tree heights and observing cloud formations.

Students participated in local atmospheric and environmental studies using the GLOBE Observer application and submitted their research results to the GLOBE Data and Information System, thus contributing to enriching the international GLOBE database with important scientific data.

GLOBE Malta took part in the international campaign “Save Our Seas by Reducing Plastic Usage”, which aimed to investigate the impact of plastic waste on the seas, with a particular focus on Xwejni Bay in Marsalforn.

GLOBE Malta also collected data from Ramla Bay to investigate the conditions that attract hawksbill turtles to come to shore to lay their eggs. Data uploaded to the GLOBE database was combined with other international data to provide important information on the deadly impact of plastic waste and the conditions that support healthy marine life.