The Argotti Botanic Gardens have a very long history going back to at
least 200 years. It hosts a wide collection of live plant specimens as well as a
dried plants collection (herbarium).
The aim of the school visit is to promote students’ learning in an out-of-classroom
environment. Guided tours are offered to students of all ages, ranging from primary year 1
pupils to secondary fifth former students and beyond. Visits last about one to one and a half
hours. For secondary students, tours are based on observation, hands-on activities and
experimentation related to the curriculum. Upon teacher’s suggestions we are also
accepting maths, physics and other science-related visits.
After last year’s success in exploring the theme; ‘PLANTS & H2O’, for this scholastic year we
wish to explore another theme. The UN has dedicated 2015 as the International Year of
Soils while 2016 is dedicated as the International Year of Pulses. There is an important
relationship between soils, plants and food and thus this year’s theme will be: Soil, Plants
and Food. We will use the logo given below.
Some of the topics explored include:
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Why we need to preserve soil.
Plant adaptations to different soils.
Composting and soil biota.
Soil for food, feed and Medicine.
Soil amendments such as lime, bio-charcoal or green manure.
Pulses as a substitute source of protein.
Groups should not exceed 25 students and must be accompanied by a teacher. Two or more
groups from the same school may be accommodated during the same morning. The tours
are held every week day from 9:00 till 13:00 and are strictly by appointment. These school
visits are a joint initiative between the University of Malta and the Department of
Curriculum Management (DQSE) within the Ministry of Education and Employment.
Application Form – School Visit to Argotti
Please fill in this form and send it by post or by email to:
argottigardens@um.edu.mt
or book on our website under the Education tab on:
www.um.edu.mt/argotti
Name of School: ________________________________________
Contact Person: ________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________
Mobile: _________________________
Email: ___________________________________
Approx. age of Students: ___________
Class: _________________
Approx. No. of Students: ___________
Name of accompanying teacher/s: ______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Time of tour: Please tick as applicable:
__ 9:30am – 11:00am
__ 11:15am – 12:45pm
or
__ 9:30am – 10:30am
__ 10:45am – 11:45am
__ 12:00pm – 1:00am
for other arrangements contact us by email
Suggested date for visit: _______________________________________________________
To note:
 You will receive a confirmation email or by phone once the date is booked. You will be contacted to find
an alternative date if the date suggested is not available.
 Visit date is subject to availability and weather conditions on the day. It is a good practice to contact us by
phone on the day.
 Tours could be shortened to 1 hour for younger students. Please note that for every two groups from the
same school coming on the same day this will entail waiting for the first group to finish - the second
group could visit the Argotti museum and/or watch nature-related movie clips inside the Argotti centre.
The groups will then alternate.
 Students are expected to participate fully in the visit and should bring along writing equipment and
colours for primary students. Every student should bring along a used small plastic yoghurt cup and a
small plastic bag.
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There will also be some plants for sale to nurture a love for plants by students.
Argotti Students Competition
All primary and secondary school students visiting Argotti Botanic Gardens will be eligible to
participate in a competition according to their age and some of the works will be exhibited
at a future date. All entries should be submitted by post or by email where applicable, either
directly to Argotti or to the student’s respective school clearly indicating on his/her project
his/her name and the respective school and class.
Category I - Primary Students Years 1-3
Draw a colourful poster (A4 or A3 size) on the following theme:
The worm living in the soil / Id-dudu li jgħix fil-ħamrija
Category II- Primary Students Years 4-6
Write a 100-150 word composition in English or Maltese with the following title:
The seed that fell on good soil
Iż-żerriegħa li waqgħet f’art tajba
Category III - Secondary Students Forms 1-2
Choose a plant and do a plant profile. How?
On an A4 sheet you should present a photo of the plant taken by you, the scientific name
and the common name of the plant and a short description, about 100 words, saying where
is this plant found and what happens if it is sown in acidic, alkaline or saline soils.
Category IV - Secondary Students Forms 3-5
You have been shown a 10m by 10m field. The farmer tells you that he tried to grow plants
for the last two years but nothing grow. You have done some testing and found that it has
saline soils. Devise a method how you would try to solve this problem. Your report should
include a short introduction on the technology you choose, a method section on how you
intend to carry out the procedure and a conclusion section on what do you expect from the
results. The report should be between 2-3 pages.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded in each category depending on the number of participants. The
school with the greatest number of entries in each category will also be awarded for the
effort with 2 indigenous trees and 3 indigenous plants to be used within the school
premises.
Application Form – Vocational Gardening School Visit
A Vocational Gardening visit is envisaged for students following a vocational track. The visit
entails a 15-minute tour around the gardens followed by hands-on activities of a diversity of
gardening work that could be done at the time of year of the visit. Gardening work could
include amongst others; potting, repotting, seed collection, propagation by seeds, division
or other methods, preparation of area for planting and compost making. A visit of 2 hours is
suggested.
Please fill in this form and send it by post or by email to:
argottigardens@um.edu.mt
Name of School: ________________________________________
Contact Person: ________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________
Mobile: _________________________
Email: ___________________________________
Approx. age of Students: ___________
Class: _________________
Approx. No. of Students: ___________
Name of accompanying teacher/s: ______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Suggested date for visit: _______________________________________________________
Suggested time of visit and duration: ____________________________________________
To note:
 You will receive a confirmation email or by phone once the date is booked. You will be contacted to find
an alternative date if the date suggested is not available.
 Visit date is subject to availability and weather conditions on the day. It is a good practice to contact us by
phone on the day.
 You will be contacted to plan the visit beforehand in light of the student’s capabilities.
 Students are expected to participate fully in the visit. They are encouraged to take notes on the work
done.
 If you wish a follow-up visit on the work done where applicable could be arranged.
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There will also be some plants for sale to nurture a love for plants by students.
Application Form – 1-Week Work Experience
Some schools have been offering a 1-week work experience for form 4 students. This was
seen to be a great opportunity for the students to see their studies in a context of work
rather than just a theoretical subject on books. We are thus offering the possibility to
receive students for a 1-week work experience for biology students and for vocational work
experience in gardening.
Vocational Work Experience in Gardening
This would entail the student to do general gardening work at Argotti Botanic Gardens. This
work would includes amongst others potting, repotting, seed collection, propagation by
seeds, division or other methods, preparation of area for planting and compost making.
After the experience the student should be able to appreciate the different methods of care
required by different plants and have an idea of the work needed to upkeep a botanical
garden with different species of plants having different needs.
Work Experience in Biology
This would entail the student to do a diversity of work done at the Argotti Botanic Gardens.
This includes general garden work such as propagation and repotting, laboratory work such
as aiding in sample collection and water testing, office work such as label production of
plant specimens and if available some work at the herbarium and seed bank.
After the experience the student should be able to see a connection between what is learnt
in class with the work done at Argotti. Should also be able to appreciate the diversity of
works available in the biology sector and gets an idea first hand what research really means.
If you’re interested please fill in this form and send it by post or by email to:
argottigardens@um.edu.mt
Name of School: ________________________________________
Contact Person: ________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________
Mobile: _________________________
Email: ___________________________________
Approx. age of Students: ___________
Class: _________________
Name of Student (if applicable): ___________
Suggested week starting on: ___________________________________________________