Project Green will be spending €10 million in a Community Greening scheme which will rehabilitate neglected woodlands and areas in several localities, Prime Minister Robert Abela said.

Abela announced the 16 projects identified for the scheme on Tuesday, which will create new green spaces, as well as convert derelict areas for the public, including educative and sportive amenities and facilities.

Project Green CEO Steve Ellul and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli spoke about the 16 diverse projects of different scale, which totals 80,000m2 of land transformed into open green spaces to be enjoyed by the general public within 10 minutes of their residence, with the aim of greenifying the most urban areas in the country.

72 applications were received for the Community Greening Grant, with 16 sites identified to be completed by 2025, Ellul said. The projects were direct proposals from local councils across Malta and Gozo, as well from NGOs, schools, and organisations.

Abela said that the projects will see the planting of around 6,500 trees, as well as indigenous plants. Those applications who were not chosen as part of the scheme, “will not remain on the shelf,” as with slight modifications, positive projects for the greening of the country will be considered for the future.

“It is clear that people want these projects,” Abela said, adding that the choice of projects government invested in was done by the communities themselves.

Abela pledged to continue the commitment for an open space to be no more than 10 minutes of walking distance from a person’s home, school or workplace.

The total area which will be converted into green spaces is roughly ten times the size of the Floriana Granaries, Minister Dalli said, adding that this was the largest scheme dedicated to the environment in recent years.

She said that in the four months since the agency Project Green was established, 32,000sqm of public space was created. 

The 16 sites of the scheme will refrain from using concrete, with porous material which absorbs rain water to be used, while ensuring pathways are accessible. The sites also include areas which are outside of the development zone, which are to be repurposed into gardens and open spaces.

Project Green will also provide a 10-year maintenance plan for the projects, which are to be maintained by local councils, as well as NGOs, such as Hospice Malta, BirdLife Malta and Grow 10 Trees.

Project Green has also submitted the applications of the major greening project in San Gwann and in Bormla to the Planning Authority, and the works on the projects will begin imminently upon approval.

The projects: 

In Santa Venera, a Hospice Landscape Garden project, applied for by Hospice Malta, will transform an abandoned site into a new public garden next to this organisation’s new palliative care centre, which will focus on the needs of Hospice, as well as remain open to the public.

The Mtarfa Local Council has proposed a Fruit Forest, which will create a community garden instead of a concrete surfaced site.

Volunteers of Grow 10 Trees will run a new educational garden to be set up in Birkirkara with the title Gnien Malti, which will be complemented by a nursery of indigenous flora. 

An under-utilised green pocket behind the Mosta Basilica will be upgraded in Gnien Reggie Cilia, with refurbished sport and community facilities, promoting alternative mobility.

A derelict area currently being used as a dumping site will be transformed into a public garden in Gnien Triq il-Ghasel in Mellieha, by the Mellieha Local Council.

Hal Ghaxaq will see a neglected woodland in Taz-Zebbug to be rehabilitated into an open public picnic area with pathways and other outdoor amenities, to be run under the Ghaxaq Local Council.

An upgrade to a public garden with an education hub will be done for the Rainwater Harvesting Park in Ghajnsielem, run by its local council, including a direct walking route to Mgarr Valley and new accessibility features.

Pjazza Victor Denaro in Msida will see a reconfiguration of the square, creating a safer, greener area outside the adjacent school, with new spaces for outdoor educational activities.

Run by BirdLife Malta, the inaccessible woodland next to the Simar Nature Reserve in St Paul’s Bay will open to the public, with sustainable picnic and walking areas.

A woodland, Tal-Kavallerizza, will be created in Marsaxlokk, to increase biodiversity and carbon sequestration of the area, giving the community a new green recreational area.

A small green pocket next to one of the busiest bust stops in Gzira will be revived as the Green Shelter, which will be run by the Gzira Local Council.

Sports Malta applied for the new Ta Xwieki Sports Park in Gharghur, a new public park centred around physical and sports activities for different age groups and mobility difficulties.

The New Leaf Park in Bormla will regenerate an underutilised garden into an education green open space, promoting biodiversity and nature-based learning. This will be run by the De La Salle College.

Gnien Mediterran in Paola is to be upgraded with increased afforestation, a dog park, and a dedicated area for students with a direct link to the MCAST Campus, under the responsibility of the Paola Local Council.

Pjazza Karmelitani in Zurrieq will see the removal of a redundant vehicular path to improve the square with more trees, decorative lighting and street furniture, run by its local council.

The Pieta Playground will be revived with increased landscaped areas for more trees and shrubs, maintained by its local council.