On August 17, 2016, more than ten trees were cut down on the territory owned by the construction company “Orbi Group” at 22 Alexander Kazbegi Avenue. Environmentalists, as well as the city hall, suspected that some of the trees might have been healthy. Activist Nata Peradze began a hunger strike in protest, later joined by other activists.

Forestry engineer Aleksandre Aptsiauri told Radio Tavisupleba that the trees were dried, diseased, and worn out. He had authored the report on the trees at Kazbegi 22, based on which the City Hall’s Department of Ecology and Greening issued a permit to cut 45 trees. However, to verify whether healthy trees had also been felled, the “Guerrilla Gardeners” demanded an investigation. On August 18, they, along with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, filed a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office.

The “Guerrilla Gardeners” launched continuous protests, demanding the resignation of the head of the Ecology and Greening Department. On August 18, they also held a march.

Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania said that before investigative actions were completed, he found it unreasonable to dismiss the department head, Nino Sulkhanishvili. He added that if the investigation determined individual responsibility, those found guilty would be dismissed according to the law.

On August 23, Nata Peradze was hospitalized due to deteriorating health. The other activists soon decided to end the hunger strike, though protests continued outside City Hall. The mayor announced a 10-day moratorium on tree cutting, which activists criticized. “A ten-day moratorium is good in a war when you need to feed the wounded. By doing this, Narmania admitted that he’s basically at war with the city and won’t cut trees for ten days,” said Peradze.

Despite the moratorium declared on August 20, constructive dialogue between the mayor and environmentalists never materialized. A planned meeting on August 24 ended in confrontation when activists found numerous of Narmania’s supporters present. They perceived the event as pre-election PR and walked out. During the exchange, Narmania lost his temper and called NGO Green Fist representative Irakli Kupradze a “monkey bastard.” Following public outrage, Narmania apologized—not to Kupradze, but to the public.

On September 2, it was announced that the City Hall’s Department of Ecology and Greening would be renamed the Department of Environmental Protection and Green Infrastructure Development. The Guerrilla Gardeners, however, demanded a full structural reform instead of a name change and continued their protest in a tent outside City Hall.

The activists collected 800 signatures on a petition demanding the resignation of senior officials from the Ecology and Greening Department. As elections approached, they suspended the protest, saying they didn’t want their demands tied to politics. They resumed on November 26, noting that neither the Prosecutor’s Office had provided updates nor had City Hall responded to their petition.

On January 5, 2017, Nino Sulkhanishvili resigned from her position, citing “family reasons.” Whether the trees cut on Kazbegi Street were actually diseased or healthy remained unanswered seven months later.