Grantees: ACT

Project duration: January – December 2026

 

The Challenge

ACT’s ability to deliver long-term environmental impact is currently limited by insufficient dedicated capacity. Coordinating projects, managing partnerships, supporting volunteers, securing funding, and engaging in policy work requires consistent professional oversight. Without a dedicated officer, growth is constrained, operational continuity is at risk, and opportunities to respond to Malta’s escalating biodiversity and climate crises cannot be fully realised.

At the same time, Malta faces an urgent ecological challenge: ongoing biodiversity loss driven by habitat destruction, inappropriate planting practices (non-native and hybrid species), climate change impacts such as drought and soil erosion, and declining support systems for pollinators and wildlife. There is a growing public demand for ecological regeneration, but this demand lacks structured coordination and expert-led implementation.

The Solution

The Malta Environment Foundation will be supporting ACT to engage a dedicated ACT Officer to provide professional coordination, strategic growth, and operational stability. This role will strengthen core management, oversee volunteers, develop sustainable funding streams, lead research and policy engagement, and ensure robust reporting and governance.

A key initiative led by the officer will be the Plant Your Tree Campaign, which directly addresses Malta’s biodiversity and climate challenges by:

• Promoting the planting of site-appropriate native species

• Restoring ecological integrity and genetic diversity

• Mitigating climate impacts such as heat stress, drought, and soil erosion

• Supporting pollinators, agriculture, and wildlife through healthier ecosystems

By combining institutional capacity-building with hands-on ecological action, this solution enables ACT to scale its impact sustainably while responding effectively to Malta’s environmental and climate emergencies needed now more than ever before.

“The Malta Environment Foundation’s decision to grant ACT €10,000 to support the ACT Officer role is far more than financial assistance; it is a meaningful endorsement of the journey ACT has taken since 2018 and the direction we are now moving towards.

 

What excites me most about this project is that it addresses a critical need: capacity. The ACT Officer role enables us to streamline and consolidate our workstreams, strengthen governance, manage volunteers responsibly, and move from survival mode towards structured growth. Most importantly, it allows ACT to work towards making this role financially sustainable in the long term.

 

This investment is a crucial step in ACT’s growth, enabling us to build a resilient organisation capable of delivering lasting environmental impact for Malta.”

 

– Claude Ebejer, CEO, ACT