During a visit from Project Green Executive Director Steve Ellul, GWU administration and department secretaries discussed the need for more open space so everyone can enjoy time outdoors with their families. Mr. Ellul explained in detail the work that is being done to create these green spaces.
He said that with the great economic boom the country has experienced, people’s demands have also changed. Today, people want places where they can spend time outdoors with their families, relaxing and, most importantly, enjoying clean air.
Mr. Ellul explained the plans to achieve the project goals, the measures for the immediate future and some long-term plans. During the meeting, the GWU Secretaries who asked several questions about this 700-million-euro investment and made several suggestions on how to improve the environment and how we can reach more people.
Suggestions were made on the types of trees to be used, parking spaces that can be used for vehicles so that the centres of our villages are not clogged with cars, beautification of industrial areas, beautification of Gozo and bicycle passages. Speakers talked about the need to protect the environment, not only the trees but also our roads, the cleanliness of our air, the use and storage of water. Other speakers talked about the need to reduce dependence on the use of private vehicles, the use of alternative transportation, more solar farms, and the use of green and clean energy.
Other speakers talked about investing in education so that our children become ambassadors of the environment, they also talked about sustainable investments and that everyone should be responsible for the environment in which we live, as well as for the quality of the sea and the blue economy.
The Secretary General of the GWU pointed out the importance of changing the appearance of our country with the planned measures, so that we achieve a higher level of quality, that places that have been abandoned, including in the municipalities, are transformed into recreational areas.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Ellul emphasized Project Green’s commitment to a better quality of life for the people of Malta through the creation, maintenance and strengthening of parks, gardens and ecological infrastructures, for a healthier lifestyle, for a more relaxed life and a more sustainable environment.
He has been entrusted with the government’s seven-year plan to ensure that everyone can enjoy green recreational spaces within close proximity to their homes.
“In addition to transforming these brownfield sites into high-quality open spaces and turning them over to people as soon as possible, we are making sure that the needs of the people who live in the area are taken into account. We listen to and survey youth, adults and the elderly to really understand what they want to see in their localities,” said CEO Steve Ellul.
He added that they are working to involve the private sector in these projects as well, so that they contribute to reducing pollution through their operations and/or invest in the land through environmental projects.
