Spencer Garden in Marsa is to be regenerated with tree nurseries, and a ‘green wall’ that will act as a sound barrier, in a project that is to be dedicated to late naturalist Guido Lanfranco. 

The €2 million project, which is being funded by the Environment and Resources Authority and Ambjent Malta, is expected to be completed by late 2022. Works are scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. 

Three tree nurseries that will be used to grow a local tree stock will be built in the area, which will also be landscaped and stripped of existing alien species. Access to the garden will be improved as will security within it, through the installation of CCTV cameras.  

The garden will be built with multiple elevation levels and what Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia on Friday described as a “green boundary wall” that will help muffle external sounds. 

Farrugia said that the garden would include multiple reservoirs to catch and store rainwater, with energy-efficient lighting powered using solar panels. 

He highlighted the benefits of having parks and gardens in highly urbanised areas and said the government was “continuously working to improve recreational green areas.” ERA CEO Michelle Piccinino described Spencer Garden as “a natural oasis in an urban area associated with traffic and industry” and said that the authority had decided to dedicate the revamped garden to Guido Lanfranco, who died earlier this month. 

“This project represents his ethos – the importance of the knowledge on the natural environment and its importance to society,” she said.