While I do not consider myself nature’s child by any means, I do greatly appreciate the wonders that nature presents to myself and everybody else in the vicinity. I appreciate the first rays of light filtering through the curtains and, if I happen to be awake early enough and happen to be in the right place, how the sky upon the horizon gradually shifts from a deep navy blue to a deep cyan to a dusky green and onward to more solar colours as the flaming sphere peaks steadily over the sea’s edge. I appreciate the clouds and their ever-changing nature as well as the relatively constant lap or rush of a breaking wave. I appreciate the droop of the Eucalyptus tree and the way that the wind interacts with its leaves and other objects. I try to ignore the litter that gets blown around – it does not belong within my picture. I enjoy the experiences provided by the moon, the lightening, the rain and, if I am really lucky, the rainbow in almost any shape, condition and form that it may present itself.

While it would be nice to lie down on a beach somewhere after dusk or perhaps revisit the childhood years and sit at the water’s edge scooping up moistened sand in the name of indulgence within a mid-summer’s dream, the truth is that the beaches are more often than not unfit for such activities, especially so in areas meters away from significant tourist traps, such as the artificial beach in St George’s bay (although to be fair it is not due to any negligence on the part of the caretakers). You just don’t know what you might find or hurt yourself on below the grains of sand.

It all comes down to cultural education really. If individuals were to carry away their spent bottles and trash then others would not only have a cleaner beach to inherit after those preceding them but they would hopefully also be more inclined to emulate their predecessors’ example. It would also be nice if accessibility to more remote beaches were improved so that both the physically fit and not so physically fit may both enjoy the natural heritage of the Islands. A particular beach in the vicinity of Ghajn Tuffieha comes to mind.

Yes this has been a relatively light-hearted post. If any readers have visited any Maltese beaches this year then it would be appreciated by not only myself but also others if they could comment on the state of the beaches that they visited and whether they have any specific suggestions for their improvement. It is a small step but it takes only a moment and perhaps something positive will come of it.