Prime Minister Robert Abela and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli on Thursday launched the public consultation on the three national parks, inviting the public to share its ideas on the website parksinmalta.mt.

During an activity held at White Rocks, together with 80 children from three different colleges, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that "today marks the first day of a fantastic project for families", through which White Rocks, among others, will be given back to the people.

He said that the Government wanted to start the consultation with children and young people, as they will be among those who will enjoy these beautiful open spaces, and therefore it is important to hear from them how these places should be transformed into national parks.

Abela said that in there are more than 200 open spaces in Malta. "Today, the country has a strong economy that allows it to do everything possible so that even in cases where past obligations existed, the Government can still return three sites to the public for families to enjoy with their loved ones."

Here he mentioned White Rocks, Manoel Island and Fort Campbell, for which Abela made a political commitment that they will be given back to the people.

Minister Miriam Dalli said that through parksinmalta.mt, people are being invited to give their ideas about what they would like to see in these sites. "This public consultation is part of the Government's plan to transform White Rocks, together with Manoel Island and Fort Campbell, into national parks. We believe that to truly give them back to the people, these parks must be designed according to people's wishes, with the needs of our children at the very forefront," said Minister Dalli.

The first public consultation activity was held at White Rocks, a site of 369,000 square metres, which until recently had been earmarked for economic development. The government will be withdrawing the public call for the development of White Rocks so that instead it can be turned into a national park for people to enjoy.

Among the ideas presented this morning by children to the Prime Minister were the creation of sports facilities such as a basketball court and a skatepark in the White Rocks National Park, as well as areas for practising traditional sports and games such as boċċi and passju.

It was suggested that the National Park should also include zones dedicated to children with autism and appropriate accessibility for persons with disabilities. Other students mentioned the need for White Rocks to have picnic facilities and areas for pets, with an emphasis on conserving natural flora and fauna, protecting indigenous plants and insects, an agricultural project for growing fresh vegetables, and cultural museums within the existing buildings.

Through an "idea wall", students from the Santa Clara, Maria Regina and St Nicholas colleges had the opportunity to be the first individuals to share their aspirations for this park. They were given the chance to learn more about the site and imagine what could be done with it, a government statement said.

This was thanks to a number of activities that Project Green organised specifically for them as part of the consultation process, it added.

The public is invited to take part in this first phase of the public consultation by visiting parksinmalta.mt.