Carmen Chetcuti has retired after 16 years of cultivating endemic and indigenous plants at the Gaia Foundation. Her daughter Graziella pays tribute to her work.

After 16 years of hard work, patience and love, Carmen Chetcuti has retired, leaving behind what she calls her “babies”.

Known for her green fingers, Carmen was dedicated to propagating indigenous and endemic plants at the nursery of the Gaia Foundation in Għajn Tuffieħa.

The journey, in her own words, was harder than expected but very rewarding.

Her love for nature started at a young age. Daughter of a farmer, she grew up surrounded by nature, picking and selling flowers before school and running after chickens.

“I always knew I wanted to work in the outdoors,” she said. “For me, working at Gaia wasn’t just a job, it was my passion. I used to love watching the seeds grow and transform. It was a miracle of nature that I had the honour of experiencing every day.”

Carmen’s work was mainly the propagation and cultivation of endemic and indigenous plants, trees and shrubs. These were used mainly for reforestation and also sold for use in private gardens.

With a lot of perseverance, she managed to propagate 56 species, some of which were the Sandarac Gum tree (Għargħar, the national tree) and rare plants such as the Maltese Everlasting and Maltese Cliff-Orache (Bjanka ta’ l-Irdum).

Maintaining these plants wasn’t easy, she admits. Throughout the years she had to battle adverse conditions, such as plant disease, pests and drought. She ended up in hospital twice after handling poisonous plants and now cautions others to be very careful when touching unknown species.

She had previously worked in a flower nursery and that experience helped her when she started working at Gaia. Still, “the first years were mostly trial and error. I used to read books for guidance, but nature is so unpredictable especially now with climate change”. One year all her seeds would germinate and the next, none of them.

Carmen treated each seedling like a special project. “You need to feed and clean them just like babies,” she said smiling.

She was not alone though: throughout the years numerous volunteers from across the globe joined her in the nursery. “They used to help me a lot, we used to love sharing knowledge, advice and customs.”

I used to love watching the seeds grow and transform. It was a miracle of nature that I had the honour of experiencing every day

To them she was a teacher, a friend and a mother figure. “We learned a lot from Carmen,” said Andrea Ambruzs, one of the volunteers. “She is very passionate in her work. She has a great sense of humour, so I loved to work with her, it was never boring. She is very open minded and kind, persistent and patient.”

Carmen said she could not have done it all without her colleagues and the knowledge of various botanists and local environmentalists, so I decided to contact to a few of them.

The nursery of the Gaia Foundation in Għajn Tuffieħa.The nursery of the Gaia Foundation in Għajn Tuffieħa.

“Carmen has been an inspiration for me in local horticulture,” said Jeffrey Sciberras, an environmental educationalist. “I enjoy the fact that I introduced a good number of local species at Gaia and that obviously Carmen was delighted about it.”

One of her co-workers, Kristina Handja, said: “It was more than a pleasure to work with Carmen. She helped me to adapt to a new working environment, and was more than just a colleague. She has great knowledge and commitment but most importantly, she loved what she was doing.”

Carmen not only inspired those around her but was also the inspiration behind a book written by Luka Tomac, with the collaboration of Friends of the Earth, called Keepers. The book documents the tireless efforts for the environment undertaken by a number of people across Europe, and she was chosen as the Maltese nature keeper.

“It was an honour to have my work acknowledged all across Europe,” she said in her typically humble way.

One of the highlights of her work for her was the possibility of sharing her knowledge with other people, especially students. “I used to feel extremely happy after school visits. If at least one student had learnt to appreciate nature, I felt a sense of accomplishment.”

Alex Casha, from the Majjistral Park, described her as a great teacher, leaving no stone unturned to share her knowledge and teach students about local plants and their propagation. “Her commitment to excellence in her work was an inspiration to all.”

What advice would she give to others: “Take long walks around the island and learn to appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature. Respect the environment.”

“Now that I have retired, I truly miss being in my little haven, but I am sure my predecessor will do as great a job or better than I did. I’d like to thank all those who have been part of my journey, especially Rudolph Ragonesi, the founder and director of the Gaia Foundation, who had trust in me and gave me this wonderful opportunity that I will cherish forever,” she said with a nostalgic smile.

Through her work in that little nursery, Carmen has made a great contribution to the Maltese environment. She has always been, and will always be, the person I look up to. Well done mum.

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