On the anniversary of the official opening of the ‘quality garden’ at Mdina Ditch on ­ March 6, 2013, ­ I thought of revisiting this jewel inthe crown of bad planning and management.

A bird’s eye view of the ditch from Howard Gardens prepared me for the worst. A water tanker was busily engaged close to a newly excavated cistern adjacent to Greek Gate, connected with its umbilical chord: filling the cistern to quench the thirsty turf?

Statistics regarding the planning and management of the site were indeed shocking. The original 300 plus citrus trees had been numbered before uprooting. Some still sport their number, one labelled 270. Only 151 citrus remain. Thirty laurel bushes, seemingly imported, replaced the citrus trees which had given up the ghost. The total number of trees in the ditch is 198.

Past the place where the 80-year-old protected olive tree was uprooted and carted away, without any approval from that toothless environmental watchdog, I could not but ask why Maltese authorities, especially those entrusted with tree protection, hate trees so much?

Part of the ditch was always under lock and key, contributing to a rich biodiversity. When the doors were flung wide open, local entrepreneurs swooped on the EU funds and with political blessing and direction, destroyed and eliminated such a natural habitat to create a ‘quality garden’.

The deepest end of the ditch offered new surprises. A historic low arch leads to a platform of deck timber, approximately 20m by 15m, raised on iron beams. Why such waste of resources? It was surrounded by membrane which was covered with white spalls, like those which were recently spread around part of Howard Gardens.

The area previously embraced a rich meadow full of local wild flowers, similar to an adjacent area. Was such platform meant to obliterate any sign of wild flowers with determination and vengeance? Was it meant to spend every cent of EU funds, no matter how?

Adjacent to the platform is a new low rubble wall built with the use of concrete. According to the Rubble Walls and Rural Structures (Conservation and Maintenance) Rubble Regulations, 1997, a rubble wall is a dry stone wall, built in loose, unhewn stones which stand by gravity and friction without the use of mortar.

The ‘quality garden’ felt more like a cemetery

Around such a barren, jarring monster of architectural acumen, without any consideration for biodiversity, are a number of lamp holders. In this ‘quality garden’, lamp lights total 161: tall, short, ground and flood lightings. Good business, considering that for every 1.2 tree there is one lamp light. And one has to include the electric elevator in this ‘quality garden’.

Light pollution is impacting nocturnal life, as it does in any garden and its surroundings. The amount of energy and carbon emission used daily to light the whole area further exposes unprofessional landscaping, the more so since the same ministry was also responsible for biodiversity and for the reduction of carbon emissions, thus cutting down on electricity use, both according to EU obligations.

I was always under the impression that the badly needing restoration of the bastions was accomplished in a professional way. But my optimism was short lived. After barely 12 months of restoration, a line of capers dotting the cordon and facade of the bastions are triumphantly showing their heads in victory. The invasive cape sorrel is waving its bright yellow flowers in spite; while wall snapdragon sports white bed slippers for the planners and advisers.

These wild flowers have already reclaimed and won back their previous foothold on the bastions. In a couple of years’ time, say five or six years, the restored bastions would once again have surrendered to this vegetation, notwithstanding the €6 million injected from EU funds.

A good opportunity has been missed. Was it bad workmanship? Was itunprofessional advice? Was it lack of experience in such delicate works, or was it the urgency to officially open this ‘quality garden’ before the election which contributed to such a waste of resources?

In such a ‘quality garden’ the lack of professional planning and environment management is supreme. Yet those responsible had the audacity to etch their names in stone on the monstrous black plaque. It is a shame that Mepa’s contribution is not also acknowledged. Neither is the EU who footed the bill.

During my two hour visit, the ‘quality garden’ felt more like a cemetery. I must admit though that I saw one cabbage white and one red admiral butterfly, about a score of sparrows, and half a dozen people!

I looked at this ‘quality garden’ from the heavily frequented, professionally planned, though miserably managed, Howard Gardens above. I stared aimlessly, and could see a blue fat cow dotted with yellow stars, in a grab, suck dry and go project. I can never come to terms with professionals claiming integrity who are on the wrong side of a decision. When wrong becomes right, nothing can be wrong anymore, and once this gathers momentum, nothing can stop it. Regrettably this mentality is gathering momentum at a very fast rate.

“The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.” (John Steinbeck, novelist, Nobel laureate (1902-1968).

aebaldacchino@gmail.com

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