The Palazzo Falson museum in Mdina has installed a green roof, in collaboration with environmental NGO Friends of the Earth Malta, and Vivacity, the firm behind the concept, thus installing a Maltese-ecosystem, using indigenous plants, which controls the indoor temperature, absorbs pollution, and fosters biodiversity.

This green roof will be one of two “pollinator-friendly urban gardens that have been installed in the new project, with the other at Julian Manduca Green Resource Centre in Floriana,” a statement from Palazzo Falson said.

In using local plants and herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, oregano, wild daisies and succulents the roof will support more than 100 wild bee species, including the endemic Maltese honeybee.

“Bees and other pollinators are increasingly under threat from human activities,” Martin Galea de Giovanni, Director at Friends of the Earth Malta, said. “Bees help produce three-quarters of our most vital crops worldwide, yet the outlook for bees is quite bleak. Research shows that pollinator-friendly gardens in urban areas offer a life-saving refuge to pollinators and biodiversity in general.”

The palazzo itself has a long history linking it to local honey production, with its previous residents Captain Olof Gollcher and his wife Nella practicing bee-keeping and growing crops.

And, now, it is the first museum in Malta to offer “a combination of heritage, biodiversity, and social wellbeing”, it said in its statement.

Indeed, installing a green roof may encourage further investment in Malta’s green economy, according to Vivacity. “Green roofs are especially beneficial in Malta, not just helping bees and pollinators do what they do best, but also offering mental health benefits to us humans as well, especially on our densely-populated islands where green spaces are limited,” Vanya Veras, founder at Vivacity, explained. 

On a practical level, they aid with insulation, cooling buildings in the summer and helping to trap the warmth in winter. They also reduce the amount of dust particles in the air, noise, and increase building efficiency, thus helping in the fight against climate change. 

The installation of the green roof at the palazzo ties in with World Environment Day and World Green Roof Day, which are being celebrated this week. The project was partially funded by the SIS Fund, managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS).