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ATP to Partner with American Forests' Global ReLeaf Program

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  • ATP to Partner with American Forests' Global ReLeaf Program

    ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
    65 Main Street
    Watertown, MA 02472 USA
    Tel: (617) 926-TREE
    Email: [email protected]
    Web: www.armeniatree.org

    PRESS RELEASE
    October 11, 2010

    ATP to Partner with American Forests' Global ReLeaf Program to Plant Locally
    Grown Trees in Northern Armenia

    WATERTOWN, MA--Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has been working on an exciting
    new partnership with the American Forests' Global ReLeaf Campaign for the
    fall planting season. Our partnership with American Forests involves
    planting 175,000 new tree seedlings in the Getik River Valley of northern
    Armenia, where ATP has been working since 2004.

    The seedlings will be purchased from families growing trees as part of ATP's
    Backyard Nursery Micro-Enterprise Program. The Backyard Nursery Program is a
    unique initiative that addresses the interrelated challenges of poverty and
    deforestation.

    "ATP partners with rural subsistence farmers who propagate tree seedlings in
    backyard nurseries. Each family grows 500 to 1,000 seedlings which ATP
    purchases when they are ready to be replanted in the forest, providing
    desperately needed income," notes ATP Executive Director Jeff Masarjian.
    "This model rewards families for their hard work throughout the year since
    we only purchase the trees that are healthy and ready for transplanting."

    "American Forests will provide a grant of $70,000 if ATP can raise the
    remainder of the funds required to implement the project," explains
    Masarjian. "Our Backyard Nursery Program received the National Energy Globe
    Award for Sustainability at the European Parliament in 2008 and we are
    grateful that an international organization like American Forests has
    decided to initiate this partnership in recognition of our efforts."

    American Forests is the oldest nonprofit citizens' conservation organization
    in the United States. Citizens concerned about the waste and abuse of the
    nation's forests founded the organization in 1875 and one of its goals has
    been to assist communities in planning and implementing tree and forest
    actions to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems and communities.

    American Forests' Global ReLeaf Campaign has been planting native trees in
    rural and urban ecosystem restoration projects around the world. The
    organization plans to plant 4.8 million trees this year in 14 states and 10
    countries to help restore forests important for endangered wildlife, clean
    water, and carbon sequestration. Since the planting of the first Global
    ReLeaf project 20 years ago, more than 30 million native trees have been
    planted in over 600 restoration projects.

    "Our goal is to raise these matching funds in order to purchase tree
    seedlings and tools, in addition to hiring workers to install fencing to
    protect the new trees and maintain the site in the first few years while the
    seedlings become established," explains Masarjian. "The trees are all grown
    from seeds collected locally in the nearby forests but they do require some
    nurturing and care while they grow into a young forest."

    An article on the National Geographic website in August points out that
    ATP's Backyard Nursery Program in the Getik River Valley gives rural
    residents hope, and that the money they receive for their seedlings will
    help them maintain their homes, expand small businesses, and support their
    children.

    "As we approach the fall planting season, we hope Armenians will help ATP
    meet the challenge offered by American Forests' Global ReLeaf Campaign to
    plant 175,000 new trees in northern Armenia. This partnership will enable us
    to fulfill our commitment to these families and plant new forests that will
    sustain Armenia's people well into the future," Masarjian emphasized.

    Since 1994, Armenia Tree Project has planted and restored more than
    3,500,000 trees at over 800 sites around the country and created hundreds of
    jobs for impoverished Armenians in tree-regeneration programs. The
    organization's three tiered initiatives are tree planting, environmental
    education, and poverty reduction. For more information or to support the
    American Forests Global ReLeaf Challenge, please contact ATP at (617)
    926-8733 or visit the web site www.armeniatree.org.




    From: A. Papazian
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