Steve Micklewright
Executive Director
Steve joined BirdLife Malta in November 2012. Previously he was Director at Avon Wildlife Trust, in Bristol, UK.
Steve has worked for environmental organisations, including WWF, for more than 20 years and has been a very active environmental campaigner both through his work and in his community. During 2012 he was awarded the Lord Mayor’s Medal in his native Bristol for his services to the community after his successful efforts to protect a woodland from development.
While at WWF, Steve coordinated campaigns about marine protection and endangered species. He also led the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England’s work to prevent the mass sale of government forests in the UK.
Nicholas Barbara
Conservation Manager
Nicholas graduated with a BSc in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Malta, followed by an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity from the University of Exeter in Cornwall in 2006. His research work focused on studying the ecology of the Ghadira Nature Reserve and the introduction of alien mollusc species in Malta.
He has since worked as a demonstrator and part-time research assistant at the Department of Biology at the University of Malta and as an ecologist and coordinator with a local environment consultancy firm, specialising in environmental impact assessments. His interest in developing a career in ecology and conservation started at an early age, prompting him to join BirdLife Malta as Project Manager for Malta’s largest conservation project- the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater Project in 2009. Nicholas now coordinates all BirdLife Malta's conservation projects, including the EU Life+ Malta Seabird Project.
Christian Debono
Conservation and Policy Officer
Christian graduated from the University of Malta in a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and a Masters in Cultural Heritage Management. He worked for two years at the International Ocean Institute - Malta Operational Centre within the University of Malta where he supported the institute with trainings, events and different research projects. During this time he was active as a volunteer with Friends of the Earth Malta campaigning on climate change and renewable energy. In 2009 he worked as project manager for Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar where he focused on setting up a website promoting heritage tourism in Malta. For two years he was involved on the steering group of Young Friends of the Earth Europe and joined in the activism revolving around the UNFCCC climate negotiations.
He left Malta in 2009 to do a year of European Voluntary Service in Gent Belgium, where he supported Jeugdbond voor Natuur en Milieu with the preparations and organisation of the European Youth Perspective Conference on Biodiversity (YouPEC 2010) in summer 2010. After this voluntary experience he was employed by the European Environmental Bureau in Brussels as Energy Savings Campaigns officer. There he helped coordinate a European working group lobbying for stronger energy saving policy. Christian was in the past a volunteer during Birdlife Malta’s Spring Watch camp in 2009 and in his teens he was a member of Klabb Huttaf. He started working with Birdlife Malta as conservation and policy officer in September 2012.
Victoria Caruana
Administration / Membership Officer
Victoria has been working for BirdLife Malta for the past 20 years and she is lovingly called “Central Command”. She is a key person in the day-to-day running of the BirdLife Malta office. Before that, she was almost entirely dedicated to the upbringing of her two children and occasional voluntary work. She has a very cheerful, outgoing personality and a good sense of humour. The only thing that sparks her anger is cruelty to animals, which is probably why she has spent all these years dedicated to BirdLife Malta.
Mandi Bennetti
Finance Officer
With a background in hospitality and corporate services, Mandi joined BirdLife Malta in 2009 aiming to contribute by ensuring the accounts are kept in order and EU projects are administered in line with EU requirements. Apart from handling the organisation’s finances and HR, Mandi administers for the EU LIFE+ Malta Seabird Project.
Nicolette Falzon
Dinja Wahda Education Programme Manager
Nicolette got involved with BirdLife Malta at an early age, participating in events organised for children like the Nature Walks and visits to the reserve. As she continued studying Nicolette’s commitment to conservation of the environment grew and she started to volunteer with BirdLife Malta. Her background in Psychology made her aware of the importance of education from an early age and this, together with her desire to share the positive experiences she had with BirdLife Malta as a child, led her to join BirdLife as Dinja Wahda Schools Coordinator in 2008.
Ray Vella
Ray has always had a passion for birds and since 1973 has been a member of the Malta Ornithological Society, then BirdLife Malta. During the period 1978 until 1985 he was living abroad, in Canada and Germany, where he continued his favourite hobby, birdwatching. His other great interest, that of trees led him to become the Foresta 2000 Ranger in 2004 where he has managed to combine both his hobbies into one, that of providing a typical Mediterranean Forest, where trees and shrubs can grow, and attracting birds in all seasons to rest and breed. The area will eventually cover 104 hectares of land, three times the size of Buskett, where one will be able to see for himself how the island once was, greener and more attractive to birds!
Fiona Burrows
Site Warden
Fiona graduated with BSc Environmental Biology and has over three years experience in practical habitat management and conservation, with organisations such as Comittee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Groundwork, BTCV Nottingham, Operation New World and E.I.L.
She has been passionate about nature from a young age and has taken part in environmental work in Hungary, Corsica, Italy and Malta, as well as in the UK.
Fiona is experienced in a variety practical skills ranging from hedge-laying, tree felling and boardwalk construction to species protection, habitat surveys and data analysis.
Dr Benjamin Metzger
Head Researcher
EU Life+ Malta Seabird Project
Benjamin started volunteering in bird research and nature conservation in his early youth. Later, he studied classical zoology, marine biology and ecology in Heidelberg and Rostock. He completed his PhD on immuno-competence and parasite-host interactions in migratory songbirds at the Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland' in 2011.
Since 2000, he has been working on various Environmental Impact Assessment's in marine environments and collected extensive experience in surveying seabirds in colonies on land, from research vessels and via aerial surveys. During the past 10 years, Benjamin has been taking part in bird migration studies and research projects on bird associated emerging infectious diseases in many European countries, Africa and Central East Asia.
BirdLife Malta is also currently hosting four voluntary interns through the European Voluntary Service, an EU Youth In Action initiative.