A visit to Xrobb l-Ghagin Nature Park

Xrobb l-Ghagin is the name given to a stretch of land in the southern part of the Maltese islands very close to the picturesque village of Marsaxlokk. The name may be derived from the local surname Xuereb, but we found no definite explanation about this. The guide told us that the first reference to the place in local history takes us back to the Middle Ages.

For a number of years, the area remained abandoned after it ceased being used by the German radio Deutsche Welle as a transmitting station. Today the land is managed by Nature Trust (Malta). The area, covering around 155,950sq.m., is considered to have a very important ecological value.

Nowadays there is great concern about the effect of global warming and ozone layer depletion on all forms of life. Areas like Xrobb l-Ghagin offer students a golden opportunity to study these interesting phenomena.

In Malta, many species have adapted themselves to the warm dry climate and grow happily in areas like Xrobb l-Ghagin. Some plants have developed smaller leaves which means that they need less amounts of water and lose less water through evaporation. Evergreen plants have also developed storage systems within their stems to help them make it through the long summer months. At Xrobb l-Ghagin apart from plants that have been very common in Malta probably since as early as the Ice Age, like the Maltese Salt Bush (Xebb), the Capparis Spinosa (common caper plant) and the national plant Maltese Rock Centaury (Widnet il-Bahar), we also find reptiles, insects and mammals like cameleons and snakes that are not very common. One of these is the leopard snake. We have also seen the partly endemic Pyramidal Orchid which needs a particular type of fungus to grow. Some of these Orchids have two bulbs one of which serves as nurient to the other. For this reason it is known as hajja u mejta.

But besides ecology, during our visit, we could also learn about the geology and the history of the Maltese islands. This means that a visit to the park can be interesting on many levels.

Close to the park is the Delimara power station. This works on low sulphate oil which when burnt, produces energy. We should use energy more carefully, and we should also make use of alternate sources of energy like the wind and the sun, to reduce the pollution which the power station causes.

We encourage everybody to pay a visit to Xrobb l-Ghagin park and see for themselves the interesting features of the site.

Daniel Cassar and Clive Abela

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