The Hospice Garden next to Hospice Malta’s new palliative care centre in Santa Venera, is one of 16 community open spaces across Malta and Gozo that Project Green is funding through its €10 million Community Greening Grant scheme.

Minister for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise Miriam Dalli met Hospice Malta and Project Green during a visit at this garden comprising of 2,700 square metres of open space, amid one of the locality’s built-up areas.

The Hospice Garden encapsulates the vision of the Community Greening Grant, as it combines the environmental and communal needs of the community to establish an innovative and sustainable green area. Designed with attention to inclusivity, the Garden will be a tranquil space for vulnerable patients who cannot visit public places due to risks to their health. It integrates water features and patches of vegetation to stimulate sensory experiences, as well as relaxation spaces for patients’ families, including play areas for children.

The project also includes a new reservoir to harvest rainwater for the Garden’s irrigation.

Minister Dalli commended Hospice Malta and Project Green for transforming land originally earmarked for development into a new garden. “This oasis of greenery will offer a serene environment for patients and their families, while helping Hospice Malta in its mission to support the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of its patients,” Miriam Dalli said.

Hospice Malta Chairperson Bernadette Bonnici Kind, said how this new garden offers serenity and tranquillity, as well as a therapeutic environment which is needed by Hospice patients. She explained that in this garden, St. Michael Hospice patients can spend some quality time with their family in such difficult times.

The Minister also explained that a few months ago, Project Green invited local councils, NGOs and other organisations to propose green projects in their community. “In less than a year, the most sustainable proposals were identified and today we are here to follow the first works of these community-led initiatives. The other 15 projects are underway as we announced in the 2024 Budget. Our vision is to continue empowering our communities to create a better environment in their localities.”

Steve Ellul, CEO of Project Green, explained that the Community Greening Grant scheme is giving organisations such as Hospice Malta the required financial resources to invest in sustainability. It is funding the creation of 80,000 square metres of green open spaces in 16 different localities. “As it nears its first anniversary, Project Green has already invested in 40,000 square meters of new and regenerated green spaces. This is just the beginning of our commitment to continue investing in new and existing parks and gardens in Malta and Gozo,” Ellul concluded.

For more information on Project Green and the Community Greening Grant scheme, visit project.green or follow the Project Green and Sostenibilita socials.  ​​