Heritage Malta’s Greening Initiatives

COVID-19 has somewhat brought with it an increase in environmental awareness, probably because people had an opportunity to reflect more on the subject and experienced the effect of better air quality due to the reduction in amount of vehicular traffic. There were places of employment which had closed completely their doors to visitors during the partial lockdown, and thus, staff usually involved in providing services to the visitors were engaged in other different work, in some cases involving maintenance and embellishment work. Several Heritage Malta employees have gone through such an experience, which then again, has raised environmental awareness directly concerning their place of work and the Agency itself. This led to the setting up of the Heritage Malta Green Committee. This committee, which has the full endorsement of the Agency, was officially set- up in October 2021. The committee is made up of a chairperson and five members coming from various departments within the Agency.

The Heritage Malta Green Committee’s Terms of Reference identifies its role and functions. Its primary role is to provide effective oversight, education, and research into possible ways in which the Agency could operate to contribute to the reduction of the carbon footprint. This is done through advice in the form of proposals to the Chief Executive Officer that, if approved, are followed up with their implementation. In fulfilling this role, the members of the Heritage Malta Green Committee act as a forum for engaging Heritage Malta staff in promoting green initiatives to reduce the Agency’s carbon footprint; generate and compile initiatives related to green initiatives; advise the Chief Executive Officer on short, medium and long term environmental as well as sustainable strategies; monitor initiatives being taken; undertake research on green initiatives; identify funding for green initiatives; and report on activities organised by the Committee. Since its inception, the Green Committee met regularly to be able to fulfil its objectives.

One of the first initiatives taken and which involved members of staff across the Agency, was the setting up of a small eco-garden at Heritage Malta Head Office in Bighi. Staff representing various departments within the

Agency gathered and planted trees and shrubs. Each indigenous tree and shrub planted was from local stock and each was tagged to the department sponsoring them. Two small ponds were added, aimed at attracting birds and other forms of wildlife, as well as ruderal vegetation was retained within this area to attract pollinators. This eco-garden concept was explained to the staff participating in this small project.

This initiative was followed up with a complementary initiative in which staff were asked to volunteer in the propagation of indigenous trees and shrubs. Seeds were distributed among a good number of staff who actively joined this initiative. Instructions on how to sow and take care of the saplings were also attached with the distributed seeds. Those who succeeded in the propagation of the seeds and caring of the saplings were asked to return the matured saplings to the Għar Dalam Nursery for further care and eventual planting at the Għar Dalam Park or other Heritage Malta sites.

The Committee was also tasked with drafting an overarching policy for the management of green areas falling within the responsibility of the Agency. Several Heritage Malta sites are enriched with green spaces. Some sites have planned historic gardens, while others form part of the natural landscape or man-made fields in which they are located. The document was approved by the Chief Executive Officer and started being adopted as from January 2023. While it is considered for both typologies explained above, its scope is to provide general guidelines for the management of green areas within Heritage Malta sites assisting Site Executives, Site Curators, Site Principal Officers, and Gardeners to: i. Establish common standards of good management and landscaping practices. ii. Promote environment-friendly and ecological management in our sites, aiming towards self-sustainability and enriching biodiversity. iii. Encourage, where necessary, ecological restoration incentives using suitable species, following pertinent studies carried out on the areas in question and the species involved. iv. Promote these areas as a habitat for rare species of flora and fauna while increasing sources for pollinators. Areas are to be carefully chosen due to accessibility. v. Entice visitors to appreciate the importance of landscapes, habitats, and ecosystems within heritage sites, and enjoy seasonal colourful flora. vi. Protect and conserve the cultural and natural heritage assets of each of the sites. vii. Support Malta’s commitment and efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation. viii. Explain such commitment through adequate signage/interpretation on the sites. ix. Promote the development of gardens where living specimens are used for the recreation, interpretation, and presentation of past landscapes.

The Heritage Malta Green Committee is also assisting in waste management aspects within the Agency. With the support of staff in all the sites and museums, data is being gathered on a monthly basis on the weight of refuse in each waste stream collected. This data is being forwarded to WasteServ Malta as part of a wider project which they are leading concerning waste management by Government Departments and Public Agencies. At the same time, this data is serving as a basis for the Green Committee to assist with the implementation of a Waste Management Policy which is also being adopted by the Agency.

Another initiative taken by the Green Committee and linked to waste management, was the installation of a composter in the ecogarden at the Head Office. A used batteries collection system, which forms part of the BATREE Scheme, has been introduced across the Agency with used-batteries containers placed at the reception desks museums and sites. One of the Committee members had identified an issue with the air fresheners used in our sanitary facilities, in that these were battery operated, thus contributing to more toxic waste in the environment. The same member, after carrying out market research, initiated the replacement of these air fresheners with a product which is more environmentally friendly. Another member took the initiative to set a central depository of used envelopes at the Heritage Malta Head Office, with administrative staff and others encouraged to recycle used envelopes for internal mail. The Committee had also forwarded proposals to Management to introduce paperless administrative procedures, with most of the proposals being taken up by Management.

Another aspect which the Committee has been working on is the reduction in energy and water consumption by the Agency, with the aim to lower the carbon footprint of our offices, museums and sites. Tap water saving adaptors have been fitted on all faucets within Heritage Malta’s office kitchenettes and staff have also been encouraged to collect and re-use the water from air-conditioning condensation. An exercise has also started to install motion detector light switches in our sites. Several memos were issued by the CEO’s office on behalf of the Committee aimed at creating awareness among Heritage Malta staff about various day-to-day operational issues, and various eco-tips which are frequently shared with staff through the intranet sharing platform.

A half-day seminar was organised for Heritage Malta staff to create awareness about issues related to climate change, with its main objective being to highlight its impact and discuss actions which could be taken at individual level to reduce the impact. The seminar started by showing the David Attenborough documentary on ‘Life on Our Planet’. This was followed by a presentation and discussion lead by officers from the Environment and Resources Authority on climate change and practical issues on how we can reduce such an impact.

The Heritage Malta Green Committee is committed to coming up with further initiatives to instil a greener culture among the Agency’s staff and assist management in the implementation of projects, actions and measures aiming at reducing the carbon footprint of the Agency’s operations and its sites. We encourage any feedback that can help the Agency achieve a greener culture and anyone wishing to send ideas and suggestions may do so on our official email: green.heritagemalta@gov.mt