Today the Batumi Botanical Garden and Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC (AGL) signed an agreement in which AGL would fund the development of the Goderdzi Alpine Gardenwith a grant of USD 100,000. The grant will be used to construct a solar energy system and parking area in the garden, build and equip a temporary administration building for the staff, arrange picnic areas and nature paths, install a septic and sewage system, construct eco toilets and a ticket box, design and print informational signs, maps, and leaflets, and develop beekeeping at the garden through the construction of a beekeepers’ house and the installation of beehives.
Construction and development of the Alpine Garden began with the support of Alliances Lesser Caucasus Programme, a market development program implemented by Mercy Corps Georgia and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
As part of the agreement, the Batumi Botanical Garden will playing a leading role in planning the Alpine Garden and will contribute its own material, intellectual, and technical resources towards implementing the project. It will also create additional jobs for local residents, allocate additional budget resources for the Alpine Garden, and ensure its proper functioning.
The aim of this grant is to develop the Goderdzi Alpine Garden as a regional center for tourism, education, and research that will demonstrate best practices for the sustainable village development. The garden will act as an incentive for residents of highland Adjara to develop their own economic capacities by creating an additional market for local products. In addition, the project will support the Batumi Botanical Garden in its mission to preserve the diversity of local plants through ex situ conservation of relic, endemic, unique, edible, healing, farming, decorative, and other useful species in order to ensure the continued ecological diversity of Adjara. The collection housed at the Alpine Garden will serve a variety scientific, educational, informational, and touristic purposes.
The signing ceremony was attended by the CEO of Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC Ronny Solberg, the director of Batumi Botanical Garden Irakli Archaia; the mayor of Batumi Giorgi Ermakov, and representatives from the Adjaran government and NGO sector.
