Awarding of the winners of the competition at the Agrarian University 

From July 8 through August 8, 2013, the project Volunteers in the Protected Areas of Georgia, based on the memorandum signed between the Free and Agrarian Universities in collaboration with the Agency of Protected Areas has been carried out. About 450 student volunteers were involved in this project and worked with five different administrative units of the Agency.

During the project’s launch, students became acquainted with all activities being implemented in the protected territories of national parks. They had to deal with administrative tasks, tourist infrastructure rehabilitation works, and environmental cleanup duties, worked to protect biodiversity, and participated in scientific researches.

On December 3 at 12:00, an exhibition of pictures taken by the volunteers at the Protected Areas during the project’s launch were displayed at the Agrarian University and the best ones were selected to receive special awards. The event was attended by the Chairman of the Agency of Protected Areas Rati Japaridze, who also awarded the winners of the competition with memorable prizes. Furthermore, he made a short tour of the University and became acquainted with the new infrastructure existing there – labs, training classrooms and visited the newly built library.

The Agency of Protected Areas is planning to carry out similar projects in the future as well. These types of activities will contribute towards the raised awareness among the young generation about the importance of protecting nature and its heritage through implementing different voluntary activities on sites.