Clean-up event at Tbilisi National Park

On July 24th, 2013, the Agency of Protected Areas (APA) (of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia), in collaboration with the National Probation Agency, organized a clean-up event at Tbilisi National Park. The Deputy Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance, Giga Giorgadze, and the Chairman of the APA, Rati Japaridze, attended the event.

Fifteen prison inmates accompanied by their ganger officers, cleaned up plastic bags, bottles and other refuse in the forests near the village of Tskvarichamia. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness among inmates of the issues present in Georgia’s protected areas and national parks, while simultaneously supporting the healthy reintegration of inmates into society.

It is worth mentioning that similar events have been held in the past – ten juvenile offenders from the Imereti Probation Agency visited Sataplia Managed Reserve, as well as ten inmates from Samtskhe-Javakheti Probation Agency and their officers participated in an outdoor hiking event at Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. The APA intends to continue planning similar types of activities in the future.