#KeepGeorgiaBeautiful
On June 16, Krtsanisi Park hosted a Green Festival.
Via the festival’s educational, music, sports and start-up zones, lovers of active leisure and recreational areas were introduced to interesting and fun activities, such as entertaining environmental games, quizzes with prizes, a flea market, an upcycling workshop, discussions about waste management and biodiversity, contact zoo, frisbee, badminton, yoga, etc.
At the end of the festival, organizers and volunteers cleaned up waste from the festival area together.
The main objective of the festival was to popularize and protect the territory of the park. Although a 200-hectare long territory of the park allows visitors to rest and enjoy nature without leaving the city limits, the park still doesn’t have the status of a protected area and a very small number of city residents know about this beautiful place. Park visitors include professional and amateur photographers who visit the park to take pictures of unique birds.
Unfortunately, the park’s biodiversity also attracts poachers, greenfields-sheep, and people seeking firewood for their personal use. Furthermore, the park is not taken care of and is littered with different types of waste.
It’s been more than a year since local and central government representatives discussed the status and the different models of future development for the park together with specialists. Within this time the park has become a popular place for youth and festival hosts.
Local youth and volunteers from Tbilisi and Rustavi organized the Green Festival in Krtsanisi Park, together with CENN’s two ongoing programs, Sustainable Forest Governance in Georgia – Phase II, funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), and Waste Management Technology in Regions, Phase II, funded by USAID.
A bit more about the festival venue:
Krtsanisi Park is a unique recreational zone between Tbilisi and Rustavi. We – the volunteers and local eco-clubs – take care of its maintenance and further development. You are more than welcome to join us!
