The Environmental Landscapes Consortium has marked the first year of its existence by launching a renovated walk-through botanical greenhouse and bird cages at San Anton public gardens.
Another proposed project is the transformation of the unsightly animal pens at the back of the bird cages into an exhibition centre.
ELC chairman Peter Calamatta said when George Pullicino, Minister of Rural Affairs and the Environment inaugurated the upgraded greenhouse and renovated bird cages yesterday that the consortium planned to apply for EU funds normally allocated for such projects.
The consortium has already spent Lm15,000 on the embellishment at San Anton so far, Mr Calamatta said.
He said that the aim of a new exhibition centre at San Anton was to prevent the public being denied free access to the gardens every time an exhibition or show was held there.
Last year this happened 15 times from May 1 to mid-July, he pointed out.
The exhibition centre will occupy the space at the area that previously was used to house caged animals. The site now houses an emu and some pigeons.
The botanical greenhouse and the bird cages were in a state of neglect before the project started. There are now some 100 birds and around 2,200 plants. Entrance is free. The consortium is also proposing to install adequate lighting at San Anton Gardens to extend the opening hours to 10 p.m.
Since it was set up a year ago, ELC took over the embellishment and maintenance of public gardens, including San Anton Gardens.
Following a general clean up, a number of trees and palms were planted to complete the missing parts of old collections and to enhance the garden in general.
All the works carried out to date at San Anton have been done through workers formerly employed with the Urban and Rural Landscaping Section and the maintenance team formed by ex-workers from Kalaxlokk Co.
All these now form part of the complement of 305 workers employed with the consortium.
San Anton Gardens, situated in the grounds of San Anton Palace, the official residence of the President in Malta, was laid out by Grand Master Antoine de Paule between 1623 and 1636.
During British rule, San Anton became the official residence of Malta's British Governors and, subsequently, that of the Presidents of Malta.
The palace retained a limited, private enclosure while the rest of the grounds were inaugurated as a public garden in 1882.