In May 2025, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) will plant its 9 millionth tree, a milestone in environmental recovery, resilience, and reforestation. To mark its 30th anniversary, ATP is inviting supporters from around the world to return to Armenia, walk through three decades of transformation, and take part in a historic celebration of growth.

Since its founding in 1994, ATP has played a vital role in restoring Armenia’s landscape after decades of environmental degradation. Today, nearly 9 million trees later, its reach transcends across the country, from reforested mountainsides to vibrant community orchards, from student-run eco-clubs to flourishing nurseries that sustain rural economies.

ATP was born during one of Armenia’s most challenging periods. The devastation of the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, the human displacement caused by the Artsakh War, and a nationwide energy crisis had left the country’s forests stripped and its communities struggling.

From this hardship, ATP’s founder, Carolyn Mugar, envisioned something revolutionary: healing the land as a way of healing the people. In 1996, ATP established its first nursery in Karin Village, offering displaced families the tools and training needed to cultivate the earth and rebuild their lives. What started as a small project has since blossomed into a nationwide movement for environmental renewal.

Today, ATP operates four nurseries across Armenia, supplying thousands of trees annually to fuel reforestation, support sustainable agriculture, and inspire grassroots greening initiatives.

At the heart of ATP’s mission is the belief that environmental change must be community-driven.

Since 1994, ATP’s Community Tree Planting (CTP) Program has transformed more than 1,800 sites across Armenia, including schools, hospitals, churches, public parks, and border villages. Beyond greening spaces, ATP empowers communities by distributing fruit trees, enhancing local food security, and building environmental resilience from the ground up.

Its reforestation work has also provided critical seasonal employment to hundreds of workers each year, particularly in Armenia’s rural regions.

In alignment with Armenia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, ATP’s efforts contribute to the national goal of doubling the country’s forest cover by 2050, while also answering the global call to combat climate change.

Recognizing that lasting change requires education, ATP launched its Environmental Education Program in 2008. Today, it runs 44 Eco Clubs across Armenia, offering students hands-on experiences in sustainability, conservation, and leadership. Through summer camps, mobile classrooms, and teacher training programs, ATP reaches thousands of children and adults each year, especially in rural and underserved areas. By investing in youth, ATP ensures that Armenia’s future environmental leaders are already taking root.

This May, ATP will plant its 9 millionth tree, a native Sosi (plane tree), revered in Armenian culture for its endurance, shelter, and beauty. The ceremony will be held at Semonian Park, near ATP’s original Karin Nursery, bringing the organization’s journey full circle.

The milestone is not just about numbers. It symbolizes the resilience of a people, the healing of a land, and the legacy of a vision that has turned adversity into opportunity.

To celebrate, ATP is hosting a weeklong anniversary trip from May 14–20, 2025, featuring site visits to its nurseries and project locations, engagements with local eco-clubs and farmers, cultural excursions, and a festive 30th Anniversary Dinner in Yerevan.

Armenia’s future is growing, tree by tree, student by student, community by community. This May, supporters have the opportunity to stand where it all began, plant alongside ATP’s team, and honor a legacy three decades in the making.

Space is limited. To register for the 30th Anniversary Trip and participate in the 9 millionth tree planting, visit ArmeniaTree.org/30th.



Space is limited. To register for the 30th Anniversary Trip and participate in the 9 millionth tree planting, visit ArmeniaTree.org/30th.