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Inauguration of Ġnien Rnella – Malta’s first carbon-neutral garden

English Version :

An open space for everyone to enjoy

The Environment Ministry regenerated the abandoned site of a former military cemetery in Kalkara to create the first carbon-neutral garden in Malta.

Miriam Dalli, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise, and Wayne Aquilina, Kalkara’s mayor, inaugurated Rnella Garden on Wednesday morning, the 19th of October 2022.

With the assistance of Ambjent Malta and Parks Malta, the Ministry equipped this garden with innovative environmental technologies, including renewable energy installations and water conservation systems, whilst adopting other sustainable landscaping practices.

Minister Miriam Dalli explained that, as a carbon-neutral garden, this new public open space generates the electricity it requires through renewable sources and harvests rainwater for irrigation without resorting to external, polluting sources.

“We are launching another open space for everyone’s enjoyment. Whilst offering a better environment for residents in Kalkara and surrounding areas, we wanted to adopt technologies to introduce sustainable and innovative solutions, a blueprint for other similar environmental projects that we will be implementing in Malta. Through such environmental investments, we are delivering on our commitment to provide more open spaces to families in Malta, while contributing to our 2050 climate neutrality objective,” Minister Miriam Dalli said.

With an investment of €1 million, this project included the restoration of four reservoirs to harvest rainwater for the garden’s new automatic irrigation systems, as well as extensive works to rehabilitate its landscaped areas, with soil levelling, maintenance of existing trees and the planting of new trees, shrubs and other plants. Workers also installed a drinking water fountain, solar footpaths to generate the required electricity for the garden’s lighting and electrical systems, as well as smart benches and solar smart bins.

The restoration of the garden’s reservoirs was financed by the Coca Cola Foundation, as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme. The regeneration of the garden was also planned in consultation with the heritage authorities, to preserve the architectural heritage of this site, which used to be a military cemetery in the 19th century. This project contributes to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals SDG 3, SDG 11 and SDG 15.

The opening hours of Ġnien Rnella are; in Summer, between 7:30 in the morning and 9:30 in the evening, and in Winter between 7:30 in the morning and 8:30 in the evening.

Minister for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise Miriam Dalli inaugurates Kalkara Eco Garden Ġnien ir-Rnella, Kalkara

Maltese Version :

Inawgurat Ġnien ir-Rnella l-ewwel ġnien carbon-neutral f’Malta

Spazju miftuħ ieħor ġdid għattgawdija ta’ kulħadd

Il-Ministeru għall-Ambjent irriġenera l-eks ċimiterju militari fil-Kalkara sabiex joħloq l-ewwel ġnien carbon- neutral f’Malta.

Il-Ministru għall-Ambjent, l-Enerġija u l-Intrapriża Miriam Dalli u s-Sindku tal-Kalkara Wayne Aquilina inawguraw Ġnien ir-Rnella l-Erbgħa filgħodu, 19 ta’ Ottubru, 2022.

Bl-għajnuna ta’ Ambjent Malta u Parks Malta, il-Ministeru attrezza dan il-ġnien b’teknoloġija innovattiva b’sistemi t’enerġija rinnovabbli u tal-konservazzjoni tal-ilma, u bi prattiċi li jħarsu l-ambjent naturali.

Il-Ministru Miriam Dalli spjegat kif bħala ġnien carbon-neutral, dan il-post ta’ mistrieħ fil-beraħ se jiġġenera l- elettriku li jeħtieġ b’mod sostenibbli u jaħżen biżżejjed ilma tax-xita għat-tisqija mingħajr ma jirrikorri għal sistemi esterni li jikkawżaw l-emissjonijiet.

“Qed niftħu spazju miftuħ ieħor għat-tgawdija ta’ kulħadd. Filwaqt li qed noffru ambjent aħjar lir-residenti tal- Kalkara u tal-madwar, ridna li bl-użu tat-teknoloġija jkun proġett ambjentalment sostenibbli u innovattiv, li jwitti t-triq għal ħafna aktar proġetti ta’ dan it-tip f’pajjiżna. Permezz ta’ investimenti ambjentali bħal dawn, qed inwettqu l-wegħda tagħna li nagħtu aktar spazji miftuħa lill-familji f’Malta, filwaqt li nkomplu fil-mixja tagħna lejn in-newtralità mill-karbonju sas-sena 2050,” qalet il-Ministru Miriam Dalli.

B’investiment ta’ miljun ewro, dan il-proġett kien jinkludi r-restawr ta’ erba’ ġibjuni għall-ħażna tal-ilma tax- xita għat-tisqija, l-installazzjoni ta’ sistema ta’ irrigazzjoni awtomatika, u titjib estensiv taż-żoni bis-siġar u pjanti, bil-livellar tal-ħamrija u kura tas-siġar eżistenti u tħawwil ta’ siġar u arbuxelli ġodda. Il-ħaddiema installaw ukoll għajn għall-ilma tax-xorb (drinking water fountain), mogħdijiet solari (solar paving) li se jiġġeneraw l-elettriku meħtieġ għas-sistemi tad-dawl u elettriċi ta’ dan il-ġnien, kif ukoll smart benches u solar smart bins.

Ir-restawr tal-erba’ ġibjuni kien iffinanzjat minn Coca Cola Foundation, bħala parti mir-responsabbiltà soċjali korporattiva tal-kumpanija. B’konsultazzjoni mal-awtoritajiet tal-wirt storiku, ir-riġenerazzjoni ta’ dan il-ġnien qieset ukoll il-ħarsien tal-wirt arkitettoniku ta’ dan il-post, li fis-seklu 19 serva bħala ċimiterju militari. Dan il- proġett qed jikkontribwixxi għall-miri tal-iżvilupp sostenibbli: SDG 3, SDG 11 u SDG 15.

Il-ħinijiet tal-ftuħ ta’ Ġnien ir-Rnella huma: fis-sajf bejn is-7:30 ta’ filgħodu sa 9:30 ta’ filgħaxija, u fix-xitwa bejn is-7:30 ta’ filgħodu sa 8:30 ta’ filgħaxija.