16 projects reaching 110,000 people | Steve Ellul

Malta is the most urbanized country in Europe. It is estimated that around 95% of our citizens live in an urbanized area, which is a very high rate when compared to other European countries. Nonetheless, our citizens have the same aspirations as any other resident in any other European country and deserve to have the best quality of life we can offer, with green spaces where they can rest. 

With the €10 million grant we will ensure that about 110,000 people, one in every 5 people living in Malta, will live less than 10 minutes away from an open space.

80,000m2 of new and regenerated green open spaces  

In total the 16 projects, in 16 localities will amount to 80,000m2 of new open space, either regenerated returning current dumping sites to open spaces accessible for all, or else turning urban areas into a green space incentivising alternative mobility.  

Having open areas in our communities is likely to increase the inhabitants' quality of life and to also contribute to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the residents who live nearby.  

As Project Green, we believe that the best way to have sustainable areas in our communities is to allow the stakeholders such as Local Councils, NGOs, Voluntary Organisations, and private entities within each community to take charge of their own projects.  

The Community Greening Grant was an example of how we should implement a bottom-up approach to truly bring change.  

In total we received 72 applications from which 16 different projects from different local councils and NGOs were chosen. These projects featured important characteristics that will reduce health disparities, see the implementation of environmentally friendly water management techniques, and the restoration of wildlife habitats. 

In addition, we also received applications that will see the enhancement of accessibility to green spaces in our communities, the promotion of biodiversity and various methods of education outdoors, the activation of underutilised spaces, and the creation of open spaces that cater to the needs of the local community.

Ensuring quality in our greening projects 

When we drafted the Community Greening Grant, we made sure to outline the green outputs as definite criteria upon which the applications were to be assessed. Therefore, at the start of the application process we gave each applicant an indicative list of green outputs that each project must achieve. 

Such outputs include the area of new green spaces, the number of trees planted within the area, and the improvement of the walking and cycling routes within the area where the project is taking place. In addition, applicants were also encouraged to propose alternative outputs, to ensure that each project is done in a holistic manner that enriches the livelihoods of the inhabitants within the area. 

These were the deliverables upon which quality was being assured, to include all aspects; environmental, functional for people of the surrounding area to use and sustainable so that it can sustain itself with minimum effort.

Maintenance is key

At application stage, each applicant was requested to submit a maintenance plan covering 10 years to ensure these open spaces are upkept at all times to be enjoyed by everyone. It is important we provide these spaces, but it is essential to encourage people to use them.

The response we received for the community greening grant was phenomenal, as it was designed to incentivise different stakeholders within the community in developing innovative green public spaces that promote sustainability across several domains. Our aspiration is to provide green open spaces just a 10-minute walk away from people’s homes, accessible and welcoming to all the residents who visit. Over the past 4 months, as an agency we have created and regenerated a lot of green open spaces within our communities, but we are not done, in fact we look forward to getting to work on these 16 projects that will ultimately give our citizens a better quality of life.

Steve Ellul is CEO of Project Green