Information about the object:
The village of Lagodekhi in Georgia in the 19th century was a place of exile or forced military service in the so-called Warm Caucasus for a large number of our compatriots. One of them was Ludwik Mlokosiewicz, who did his military service in Lagodekhi and later settled there permanently. Already during his forced stay, he began to organise an extensive garrison garden. Later, he developed it by importing cuttings and seeds of trees and shrubs also from outside the Caucasus region.

At the peak of the dendrimarium's development, it grew several hundred species of trees. He organised research expeditions to the Greater Caucasus region and Persia, through which he discovered some 30 species of plants and animals for science. The best known are the Mlokosiewicz peony and the Caucasian black grouse. Thanks to his natural research in the Lagodekhi region and his efforts, Tsar Nicholas II established the first protected area in Russia. He also held the position of forester in the Kakheti region. Today, a National Park named after Louis Mlokosiewicz has been established on the basis of this area in Georgia.

Completed works:
The project was a continuation of the work carried out in 2021 and was the next stage in the process of revitalising and honouring the legacy of Ludwik Mlokosiewicz, a Polish 19th-century naturalist, traveller and forester associated with Georgia.

The project consisted in the gradual restoration of the dendrarium in Lagodekhi, Georgia, to its full functionality by clearing the main avenue, removing bushes and rubbish from the most representative part of the park over an area of approximately 0.7 hectares, and protecting the most valuable trees by carrying out conservation arboricultural treatments. The whole project was complemented by the creation of information boards in three languages: Georgian, Polish and English describing the 30 most valuable trees of the dendrimarium and two general information boards concerning the park and its creator. The work was carried out by volunteer specialists - dendrologists, foresters, arborists and landscape architects.

Funding: Polonika Institute programme "Polish cultural heritage abroad - volunteering".

More about the project: https://polonika.pl

• Rada Ogrodów Botanicznych i Arboretów w Polsce.