Malta Rock Climbing Club cleans up Xaqqa Valley

BIRKIRKARA, Malta - April 1, 2013 - PRLog -- Xaqqa Valley is ideal for beginner climbers and the MRCC sometimes organises sessions there. However, the valley is also a target for another popular local sport - dumping unwanted white goods and household waste in the countryside!

The day’s event started with the cleanup, for which 20 club members and newcomers volunteered. These originated from more than ten nationalities, spanning from Colombia to Pakistan. Green Skip Services Ltd kindly sponsored a large skip which was quickly filled up with all manner of discarded waste, including two ‘men-at-work’ signs which, as it happened, came in useful during the event and were the last to be thrown into the skip.

The rest of the morning was spent climbing on the amazing smooth slabs that form the north wall of the valley. Xaqqa Valley is unique in being the largest slickenside of the Maltese islands, a smooth steep wall over 100m high in places, formed by the polishing action of the Magħlaq faultline. It is a Natura 2000 site and should be protected for its unique geological and aesthetic features.

The MRCC, through its Secretary Mike Caffrey, who was responsible for organising the activity together with President Andrew Warrington, thanked the Malta Tourism Authority’s Product Planning Division and Wasteserve for their support in this initiative. The Club also thanked Mrs. Mary Gaerty of Green Skips for providing the skip on the day. “We appreciate the dedication of all those MRCC members who gave up their time on Sunday to spend it collecting rubbish that should never have been dumped in the first place,” said Mr Caffrey.

For more information about the MRCC, its environmental initiatives and club climbing activities visit http://www.climbmalta.com and http://www.facebook.com/groups/MaltaRockClimbingClub.