An Experimental Zone of Rare Plants Established at Shakarim University

Rare trees brought from the botanical garden in the western part of the country will now be grown in the center of the Abai region.

Today, Shakarim University hosted an event that marks a new stage in the ecological transformation of the university’s campus: rare tree species from the Mangyshlak Experimental Botanical Garden were planted on university grounds.

The visit of Akzhunis Imanbayeva, PhD in Biological Sciences and Director of the botanical garden, to Semey is the result of agreements reached during the 2023 visit of the university’s rector, Duman Orynbekov, to Mangyshlak. That meeting laid the foundation for a long-term scientific partnership — which today has taken tangible shape.

The planted trees include: Gleditsia triacanthos, Ailanthus altissima, Maclura pomifera, Quercus robur, Acer semenovii, Fraxinus sogdiana, Biota orientalis, Morus nigra, and Acer ginnala. These species have never before been cultivated in the continental climate of the Semey region. Now they form part of an experimental green zone, where their adaptation, growth, and impact on the microclimate of the university will be monitored.

A vital role in this process is played by the agrobiological laboratory of Shakarim University, which is fully equipped to conduct monitoring, maintenance, and scientific research. It will become the core of a new green technopark, where agrarian science intersects with ecological mission and urban sustainability.

According to Rector Duman Orynbekov:

“We are not merely greening the campus — we are restructuring the university environment into a scientific-ecological ecosystem. Every planted tree will shape the identity of the city of tomorrow, where campuses evolve into territories of a new lifestyle. Ecology is not fashion — it is an intellectual responsibility of the university to society. We aim to be the first in the region to design new climate scenarios based on science, not forecasts.”

The cooperation agreement between Shakarim University and the Mangyshlak Experimental Botanical Garden creates new opportunities:

to develop a landscape campus of a new generation;

to conduct scientific experiments for greening arid regions;

to engage students in real ecological projects and field work;

to launch new educational tracks in agroecology, urbanism, and plant adaptation.

Today’s planting is not a ceremonial gesture — it is a biological transformation point for the university.

Shakarim University becomes not only a place of knowledge, but also a living example of sustainable thinking and scientific environmental action.