Stav the Gardener

He was born in Jerusalem, in Ein Karem, and as a child moved to Givat Ada. As a youngster he loved taking care of pets and observing them; at one point he had more than 30! He remembers himself at a particularly young age following snails; thus, it was clear to him that a profession connected to the environment was simply in his nature.

For many years his connection to the gardens at Ramat Hanadiv was through his job as a waiter at the nearby restaurant, “Mataim”. He loved coming to work, chatting with the people and absorbing the local atmosphere, but the great change came when he was given an assignment, as a landscape architecture student at Ruppin College, on the Cascade Garden. An in-depth look at the gardens strengthened his love of the place and his choice to join the gardening staff at Ramat Hanadiv.

He defines his work as a gardener as “healing nature” and admits that this relationship is mutual. As a gardener you help nature to heal – and nature returns the favour. He is particularly moved by reuse that enriches nature: woodchips that fertilise the soil and eventually decompose and enrich it – this is a wonderful cycle.

He is very proud of the work environment at Ramat Hanadiv and hopes that Ramat Hanadiv will become a leading light with respect to our relationship with nature in Israel.

A day in Stav’s life includes waking up very early (5:00 am) and breakfast with little Kai and with Yu, his beloved wife whom he met when they worked together on a cruise ship. By 6:30 am Stav is already surrounded by his workmates, the gardening, maintenance and forestry staff, having a morning coffee before beginning the day’s tasks. From now until the late afternoon he’ll be pruning, planting (not during the Shmita year), cleaning, and a partner in “healing nature”.

He really enjoys working outside, all day long, under the Israeli sun; or as he puts it: “That’s how we stay healthy – what’s better, working in an office???”