While the sun shines in the heart of Sulaimaniyah, the passion of two women runs a nursery that annually prepares 350,000 trees for the entire province of Sulaimaniyah. However, the nursery faces challenges.
The nursery, where Shukriya Aziz and Zaitun Abdullah have worked for 27 years, aims to increase the amount of greenery in Sulaimaniyah, which has not yet reached half of the world standards.
Sarchnar Nursery is considered to be the first government nursery, established in 1948 on a 40-acre land in the Sarchnar neighborhood.
"We spent our youth here, but dedicating a lifetime to this work has not made us feel tired," Shukriya said as she was removing the bad grass in the nursery.
Initially, the goal of the nursery was to green Goyzha Mountain, but now the goal is bigger – producing small trees and seeds for the entire province of Sulaimaniyah.
"Wherever trees are needed in Sulaimaniyah province, we can provide them here," said Danyar Hadi, director of Sarchnar Nursery.
The nursery produces a total of 350,000 trees annually, most of which are pine trees which are suitable for the environment of Sulaimaniyah, as they can withstand cold and strong winds and do not require much water.
There are also trees such as eucalyptus, berries, watermelon, and other ornamental flowers like lavender and rosemary.
Shukriya and Zaitun have been working in Sarchnar nursery for decades. Kochar Aziz
Abdullah, who was employed at the nursery on the same day as Shukriya, and mostly works in planting in pots, says she does not feel the passing of time and describes her happiness at the nursery.
However, Aziz says she is saddened to see the nursery losing its previous capacity to produce seedlings due to staff shortages, retirement of team members, and lack of replacement staff.
"We have seen four managers replaced. We used to have 40 civil servants working here, but now there are only four permanent employees."
In the early 2000s, about 40 employees and workers were employed at the nursery, but now only four employees and 11 workers are permanently employed there.
According to Tariq Hamaghrib, director of Sulaimaniyah Forestry, the nursery is supervised by them and they can provide trees for 23 forestry departments in Sulaimaniyah.
The importance of the nursery lies in the fact that the greenness rate in Sulaimaniyah, based on the local government's claims, is about 15 percent, which is lower than the international standard of 30 percent.
Sulaimaniyah province accounts for more than 31% percent of Iraq's industry, according to the latest research conducted by the Azadbun Organization for Sustainable Development in the first half of this year, with 600,000 vehicles and 4,000 diesel power generators, which has a direct impact on pollution.
"In order not to reduce our production, the government needs to provide more workers and employees," Hadi said.
According to Rawa Abdul Qadir, an agricultural engineer, the nursery constantly needs the services of 30 to 40 employees to produce the necessary amount of seedlings.
Generally, from November to April, seedlings are sold at cheaper prices to citizens and donated to government institutions.
Sarchnar Public Nursery in Sulaymaniyah. Kochar Aziz
Climate change, including floods, has twice damaged the nursery and destroyed its seedlings, due to its proximity to the Qilyasan River, the last time in 2016 when the Chaq Chaq Dam collapsed.
In 2023, with the support of the United Nations, the nursery's production capacity hit 1,5 million trees, some of which were fruitful, according to the director of the nursery.
Figs, peanuts, berries, and other fruits were some of the trees produced in the nursery.
"The nursery takes into account the climate and geography of these areas in producing seedlings, so that the seedlings are adapted to the cold and hot weather of the region," Hadi said.
"After giving trees to each area and agricultural department, the Sulaimaniyah Forestry Directorate will follow up to see how much greening the trees," he added.
Every year, the nursery distributes forest trees to 20 graduates of the College of Agriculture. Last year, trees were distributed to 100 farmers who had their own farms.
According to the nursery, 350,000 trees were donated to farmers and institutions in Sulaimaniyah province last year.
Shukriya loves the nursery so much that she does not want to retire if it is up to her.
“I want to always serve the nursery,” she said. This comes after Shukri and Zaitun have only one year left to retire.
Shukriya's father retired there after years of serving the nursery, but Shukriya said "I don't want to follow in my father's footsteps in retirement."
Each tree can produce enough oxygen for four adults to breathe daily, according to the US Department of Agriculture, which emphasizes that trees are the largest oxygen factory on earth.
The beauty department of the nursery produces between 30,000 to 60,000 flowers annually and sells them to people.
Hawry Mohammed, director of the ornament department of the nursery, said, "The lack of workers and employees, the lack of necessary equipment, and the lack of clay, peat moss, and nylon have created problems for us."
