Armenia Tree Project (ATP) saw a year of increased collaboration with non-governmental organizations operating in Armenia, to expand the reach and scope of its environmental education programs in 2013.

With the help of a grant from Italy’s International Committee for the Development of People, ATP certified 100 local teachers during eight special training sessions at ATP’s environmental education center in the Lori region. Trainees also included representatives of other NGOs, marking first time other organizations utilized the ATP training model.

Working with the United Nations Climate Change Program and World Vision, ATP received funding to provide additional training as well as school visits to its environmental education centers in Karin and Margahovit. As a result, more than 1,300 schoolchildren and university students visited the Michael and Virginia Ohanian Environmental Education Center in Karin in 2013, and nearly 800 visited the Ohanian Center in the village of Margahovit near Dilijan.

“After their visits to our environmental centers, children and teachers alike provided very positive feedback. This tells us that we’re making an impact on a collective environmental consciousness,” said education training specialist Nvard Gevorgyan.

Composting, biohumus production, rainwater capture for irrigation, and pesticide-free vegetable production were the topics of instruction at the Michael and Virginia Ohanian Center for Environmental Studies in Margahovit in 2013.

“Not one of the students knew what broccoli was, or that thyme came from seeds, before we started planting! Our initiatives give kids real, hands-on experience as opposed to reading from a book,” added education program manager Alla Sahakyan.

ATP places special focus on environmental education at schools where its Community Tree Planting Program has been implemented to beautify the grounds and provide fruit bearing trees. “Education in communities where we are planting makes twice as big an impact: students learn why trees are important while getting to see the trees grow while caring for them,” noted Sahakyan.

ATP was thrilled to do more activities with schoolchildren in 2013 as a result of a grant from Panasonic that enabled the planting of 20,000 additional trees. The grant was part of the Learning about Forests (LEAF) program.

Partaking in an annual ritual as a part of ATP’s Building Bridges program, students from six Armenian schools in the United States spent a day with local schoolchildren to plant trees at Zvartnots Cathedral and the Sardarabad Monument, then visited ATP’s Karin nursery with local students to forge lasting connections.

Another highlight of the year was the screening of the short film “Something New,” that tells the story of two cousins, one in Los Angeles and the other in Margahovit, who decide to help clean up Armenia. The film premiered on November 16 at the Ohanian Center in Margahovit and was screened at the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies on November 28.

Finally, ATP became a member of the newly founded Environmental Education Organizations Network that seeks to develop a unified model for environmental education and promote cooperation between organizations and NGOs. “We hope to work with the network in 2014 and increase partnerships with organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP, and GIZ,” added Sahakyan.

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 desire to promote self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest resources first, and conserve the indigenous ecosystem. ATP’s three major programs are tree planting, environmental education, and sustainable development initiatives.

Armenia tree project

PHOTO: ATP Environmental Education Program Manager Alla Sakahyan gives a certificate to a teacher from Vanadzor School No. 23 as part of trainings conducted in cooperation with Italy’s International Committee for the Development of People.