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

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ATP partners with families to create micro-enterprise opportunities in villages such as Aygut, which provide trees to support reforestation efforts including this year’s Trees of Hope campaign (Photo by Garo Lachinian)

Given the importance of breaking ground during this year’s planting season, the Trees of Hope initiative has been supported by a comprehensive campaign designed to reach a wide audience. The community-based campaign includes print advertising, direct mail, and promotion on the Internet. It also extended to broadcast media in Armenia to help raise awareness of ATP and generate enthusiasm among local communities who will directly benefit from the program, both environmentally and economically.

A 60-second television and radio spot was made in Armenia in support of the Trees of Hope campaign. It is being broadcast on satellite television and community radio programs in North America and Armenia. The piece--which was created by world-class animators at Triada Studio and produced by Vem Media Arts, both located in Yerevan--may also be seen on the ATP Web site at www.armeniatree.org/hope.

“Congratulations for the wonderful work ATP is doing. Deforestation is a huge problem everywhere and it is the work of people like you that helps to counter this threat,” said Tim Willmott, co-founder of the Web of Hope. The UK-based Web of Hope provides the world’s first global distillation of “best practice” models for sustainability. (www.thewebofhope.com).

Commenting on the Trees of Hope campaign initiated in observance of the Genocide, Mr. Willmott stated, “Peace is too frequently left out of the sustainability debate. How can people possibly think about the future of the planet when their lives and the lives of their loved ones are under threat--the genocide of the Armenian people should not be forgotten, a reminder of what can happen when others look away.”

Since 1994, ATP has made enormous strides in combating desertification in the biologically diverse but threatened Caucasus region. Over 574,000 trees have been planted and restored, and hundreds of jobs have been created in ATP’s seasonal tree-regeneration programs.

In 2005, ATP is working on three major initiatives: planting 90,000 trees at urban and rural sites throughout the country, environmental education and advocacy in Armenia, and community socio-economic development and poverty reduction. “The socio-economic impact of the global crisis of deforestation cannot be underestimated,” stated Ian McIntosh, International Projects Director at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “Precious soil, the very foundation of a nation’s livelihood, is being washed away as a consequence of irresponsible and unmanaged tree cutting and inevitable erosion.”

“Yet in Armenia, high up on the list of endangered environments, there is a ray of hope. It is called Armenia Tree Project. By planting ‘trees of hope,’ Armenians build forests of memories that will sustain the people for generations to come. Further,” added Dr. McIntosh, “supporters of ATP are creating an example of forest restoration and environmental protection that can inspire the world to do the same and give us all a future to cherish.”

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