Community Tree Planting Program Provided 66,539 Trees for 177 Public Sites Throughout Armenia in 2010
YEREVAN—Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has donated 131 trees in appreciation of the dedicated service and invaluable contribution of the U.S Embassy in Yerevan to the welfare of Armenia. Together with U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, ATP specialists, and U.S. Embassy staff planted the trees on the grounds of the embassy.
After Tigran Palazyan, chief propagator at ATP’s nurseries, assisted Yovanovitch in planting a tree, the ambassador thanked ATP for the good work it does in Armenia and for the donation of trees to the embassy. “Like so much of our work here, the full impact of what we’re doing today won’t be fully realized for several years. But where we see opportunities for growth, and we nurture and cultivate those projects, they grow into something big—sometimes even bigger and with greater impact than we ever imagined,” said Yovanovitch at the tree planting ceremony.
Participants planting trees at the U.S Embassy included Veronica Hons-Olivier, management officer at the embassy, Areg Maghakian, ATP associate director of operations in Armenia, and members of ATP and embassy staff. The planting was organized jointly by ATP specialists and the embassy’s landscaping foreman.
When the planting was completed, Maghakian thanked Yovanovitch for her continuing efforts aimed at the development of the country and strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations.
“As most of you already know, the majority of our funding comes from donors in the United States. Our work could not be done without their kind contributions. We here at ATP as well as our donors would like to thank the United States for its ongoing contributions to the development and betterment of Armenia. These trees are a small gift on our behalf for the wonderful work you’ve done,” Maghakian said.
ATP and the U.S. Embassy continued the successful partnership during ATP’s initiative to create a new community forest. Four U.S. Marines from the embassy joined ATP in planting 500 trees in Armavir on the territory of the Nor Akunq Company, a provider of water supply and drainage to the region. The event was organized with the participation of the Armavir mayor, Nor Akunq International General Manager Rudolf Krueger, local youth groups, and volunteers from the community.
“If the tree planting in Armavir proves to be successful, we may continue our cooperation in other regions,” noted Maghakian.
The planting at the embassy was one of many initiatives organized within the framework of ATP’s Community Tree Planting (CTP) program. In the spring, the CTP program planted 35,741 trees and in the fall 30,798 trees were planted in a total of 177 communities of Armenia. Out of those 177 sites, 36 are communities where ATP started its greening activities for the first time in 2010.
“ATP has started to create small community forests in 2010 that will become unique leisure zones, as many of Armenia’s village communities are deprived of forests,” stated Arthur Harutyunyan, head monitor of the CTP program. “This will provide recreational areas within each community and we hope it will motivate other communities to coordinate similar tree planting activities. This new ATP initiative has both an environmental and an educational perspective. For example, we engage as many children as possible in our planting activities and these children understand immediately that they plant for future.”
ATP participated in a number of events in 2010, including a tree planting in April with British Ambassador to Armenia Charles Lonsdale as part of the international Earth Day campaign when 200 trees were planted in the Nor Nork community. ATP also continued its special partnerships with organizations in Armenia engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility programs including Synopsys Armenia, HSBC Bank, and Ameria Bank.
ATP’s mission is to assist the Armenian people in using trees to improve their standard of living and protect the environment, guided by the need to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest resources first, and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s three major program initiatives are tree planting, environmental education, and poverty reduction.
For more information about ATP, please visit the web site www.armeniatree.org.
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