An annual spring festival organised by the Valletta 2018 Foundation was officially opened this morning in St George’s square, with two 400-year-old secret gardens being made available to the public for the first time.
The Valletta Green Festival will take place throughout the weekend, and is part of a series of events aimed at celebrating Valletta’s 450th anniversary.
This morning’s press conference was addressed by V18 Chariman Jason Micallef, Environment Minister Jose Herrera and Transport Minister Joe Mizzi.
Over 80,000 flowers have been planted in order to reproduce the outline of one of the early plans of Valletta and its fortifications as well as highlight the historical importance of the city – recognised as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1980.
Serving as a colourful backdrop, the grid of straight streets which characterise Valletta has been depicted through an artistic representation.
The two gardens, located in the buildings of St Catherin’s Monastery and the Archbishop’s Palace, are open from 9am till noon, and 4pm till 7pm. The entrance for St Catherin’s Monastery is located in St Christopher’s Street, while that of the Archbishop’s Palace is in Old Mint Street.
“This marriage of past and present symbolises Valletta today, a city where contemporary customs and fashions live side by side with a rich architectural and historical heritage. The Valletta Green Festival provides an opportunity to unlock Valletta’s secrets during Mother’s Day weekend. It also gives added value to an annual attraction which is growing year on year, contributing to the cultural, social and economic of Valletta,” Valletta 2018 Chairman Jason Micallef said.
Newly appointed Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change Jose Herrera spoke about how such an initiative raises awareness about Malta’s environment.
He explained that representatives from Waterserv, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), and the PARKS Directorate within his Ministry will be actively participating in the weekend-long festival.
“Waterserv will be providing information about the ‘Don’t Waste Waste’ education campaign, which was launched last month, as well as information about its pilot project on the introduction of organic recycling. Wasteserv will also have activities for children related to recycling. The ERA will be promoting land and sea biodiversity and will be providing information about protected zones in Maltese waters, among others.
“The PARKS Directorate will be supplying information about the LIFE+ Buskett project and the Tree 4 U campaign,” he said.
Dr Herrera also took the opportunity to make reference to the Wied Ghomor proposal, which sought to build an old person’s home in a disused quarry between San Gwann and Swieqi. The proposal was overwhelmingly rejected by Planning Authority board.
Dr Herrera said that the efforts of civil society, eNGOs and the newly introduced government measures, such as the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) have worked well to safeguard the environment.
He said that this illustrates the government’s commitment towards safeguarding the environment.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi said that “The Valletta Green Festival is another creative project that will continue to create more awareness on the environment.”
During the Valletta Green Festical, members from the Cleaning Directorate will be promoting the Ghalfejn Thammeg Pajjizek campaign. The Minister also urged the public to make use of public transport to make their way to Valletta.
On Saturday 7 May, Tikka Banda sessions will be taking place from 10am till noon, while Charles and Freinds will liven up St George’s Square with relaxing Blues and Jazz music from 8.30pm till 10.30pm.
Mr Micallef concluded by appealing to the public to volunteer in the Valletta 2018 activities, stressing that applications are still open and that further collaboration with the public can only serve to improve activities.
Photos Jonathan Borg