ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472 USA
Contact: Jeff Masarjian
Tel: (617) 926-8733
Email: jeff@armeniatree.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2005

Armenia Tree Project Launches Unique Campaign of Remembrance and Renewal

Since 1994, ATP has planted and restored over 574,000 trees, creating hundreds of jobs in seasonal tree-regeneration programs in urban and rural areas throughout Armenia (Photo by Garo Lachinian)

WATERTOWN, MA--Nationwide, Armenia suffers from ecocide as a result of unsustainable tree-cutting practices. At the turn of the 19th century, an estimated 25 percent of Armenia was covered by trees. Today’s estimate of tree coverage is as low as eight percent. According to the World Bank, 80 percent of Armenia is at risk of becoming desert, and at the current rate of deforestation the last of the forests could disappear in 20 years.

To counter this threat, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) recently announced the launch of a “Trees of Hope” campaign in observance of this year’s 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As part of this campaign, ATP invited the participation of Armenians from around the world to sponsor Trees of Hope. The inaugural planting will begin with 90,000 trees, symbolizing the 90 years that have passed since the Genocide.

“Our goal is to grow many thousands of Trees of Hope to maturity in time for the milestone 100th anniversary commemoration,” stated ATP Executive Director Jeff Masarjian. “These memorial trees are an inspiring way to honor our lost ancestors, and a very practical way to preserve the precious Armenian Homeland.”

During the winter of 1992 while visiting Armenia, ATP founder Carolyn Mugar saw that thousands of trees were being cut for fuel as a result of the energy shortages, so she decided to commit towards preventing further deforestation.

ATP’s efforts in Armenia were officially launched with a tree-planting at the Nork Senior Center in 1994. Since then, thousands of trees were planted in Armenian communities throughout the country as part of the Sponsor-A-Tree program, state-of-the-art nurseries were opened in the villages of Karin and Khachpar, and forest rejuvenation programs were implemented at Tsitsernakaberd Park and elsewhere.

Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, who is the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, has participated in memorial tree plantings with ATP at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial and is a major supporter of the program.
“Armenia Tree Project’s goal of planting 90,000 trees this year is a fitting tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide. With the environmental degradation that severely afflicted most of the former Soviet countries, the trees planted this year will not only serve as a strong reminder of the Genocide, but also help produce an environmental renaissance. I commend ATP for the important work it is doing,” stated Rep. Pallone.

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