Gibraltar unveils first green roof bus shelter at Fish Market Steps

Gibraltar marked the launch of the Rock’s first “green roof” bus shelter at Fish market Steps with a ribbon cutting ceremony organised by The Gibraltar Horticultural Society.

The launch was the culmination of a year-long effort in negotiation, research and planning, said Annabelle Mor-Codali, CEO of the Gibraltar Horticultural Society.

Speaking at the inauguration, she said those involved in the scheme felt “very proud” to have completed the pilot project, adding that interest from the private sector was already strong.

“We feel very proud to have been able to actually do the very first green bus roof shelter,” she said.

The new shelter was sponsored by Eroski and is intended as the first in a wider rollout of shelters incorporating planted roofs aimed at supporting bees and pollinators and enhancing the urban environment. There will be more to come from September at the Society has a lot of other companies interested who have already given the deposits to go ahead.

“A very big thank you to Eroski, because without them, maybe this would never have happened,” she said.

She also thanked the Minister for Transport and Environment, Dr John Cortes and his department for guiding the project through the various stages of approval and implementation, as well as to “everybody behind the scenes” involved over the past year.

In particular, Vanessa Byrne from OTWO was credited as the driving force behind the initiative.

“This would never have been possible without one person, and that is Vanessa from OTWO, who’s made this project possible, and they are the ones who actually reached out to us to make this happen,” said Ms Mor-Codali.

Dr Cortes also praised Ms Byrne noting: “If you could teach me to ride a bicycle, you can do anything.”

He also praised the Society for their contribution to Gibraltar’s environmental agenda.

“We thank the society for the incredible work you’re doing in greening Gibraltar,” he said as he underlined that projects of this sort required partnership across government, civil society and the private sector.

“I’ve always said this is a team effort. It can’t be done by the government on its own. This is one that we’re very pleased to support.”

“It’s a great pleasure to be here. I will snip the ribbon, and as I always do these things, I keep a little bit of the ribbon.”

He highlighted the environmental benefits of the green roof, expressing hope that it would attract pollinators and wildlife into the urban setting.

Green roofs provide a wide range of environmental and social benefits, including helping to reduce urban heat, improving air quality, supporting biodiversity, absorbing rainwater, and bringing nature back into built-up areas.

They also help soften the visual impact of concrete structures while creating greener and more attractive public spaces for the community.

Mor-Codali told the Chronicle after the inauguration that there was plenty of obstacles to get to where the bus stop is today.

“It wasn't an easy thing from start to finish,” she said.

“I mean, we had to go through a lot of paperwork, town planning, and we had to choose the right plants to put on the rooftop, because obviously they had to be drought resistant because of the weather.”

“We found a very good supplier in abroad, which is a global company. They're very reputable. They've been 30 years in the business, and we will be rolling all this throughout using the same system in all the other bus shelters as well.”

The bus stops will be ‘wild’ with no watering schedule in place.

“The plant systems will follow the seasons. So the same seasons that we have within Gibraltar that's what we're going see in a green bus roof shelter,” she said.

“It will go through the drier season, and then it will go into the winter season, as we have in Gibraltar, which are very mild. But then come spring, we will see flowering in the top of the bus stop, and as it grows longer, you will see the green plants growing on top.”

“They're very small, but hopefully we will see them overflowing a little bit on the sides, which will be maintained as it needs.”