The President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society said it acknowledged that the impact of environment on individual and social wellbeing must be considered as a multifaceted and holistic phenomenon. In a statement, the foundation said that growing contemporary evidence supports the view that exposure and access to green spaces can have a wide range of social, economic, environmental and health benefits.

The President’s Secret Garden, a project facilitated by the Foundation, is a direct response to consultation with families through the Foundation’s Fora, and the perceived lack of open spaces for children in Malta. This led to the provision of a safe and green space in San Anton Palace, and activities that promote healthful and empowering relationship-building among children. The Foundation recognizes the intrinsic link between access to green spaces and wellbeing.

A balance must be found between development and the protection of natural (open space) resources. It is vital that citizens be actively engaged and encouraged in the continuation of open space protection and preservation. The Foundation encourages further work in fostering creative foresight, sustained will, and collaboration between civil society and other sectors, in order to ensure that open spaces will continue to play their essential role in the wellbeing of people in Malta and Gozo.