ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
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Watertown, MA 02472
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PRESS RELEASE
May 1, 2006
Bilezikian Family Foundation Supports Expansion of Backyard Nursery Program
— $50,000 Grant Jumpstarts ATP’s Spring Reforestation Program in Getik
River Valley
WATERTOWN, MA–With the support of the Bilezikian Family Foundation of
Massachusetts, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) was able to continue the expansion
of its Backyard Nursery Program in the Getik River Valley this spring. The
project was initiated in Aygut village with 20 families in 2004, and now has
330 families in four villages growing seedlings.
This spring, ATP was able to purchase 95,000 seedlings from 118 families,
and hire 45 workers to plant them into the forest. This was made possible
largely as a result of a $50,000 grant from the Bilezikian Family
Foundation.
Families are able to significantly increase their annual income by growing
seedlings.
`When we began our Backyard Nursery Program we looked for an area that would
benefit most from our reforestation efforts,’ stated ATP Executive Director
Jeff Masarjian. `We started with the knowledge that deforestation was linked
to poverty. We knew that in addition to planting trees, we had to provide
people with a steady income, so they could meet their basic needs.’
`In two years we have grown from helping 20 families learn how to start
their own tree nurseries to now providing a stable income for 330 families
who are also creating a successful and renewable source of tree seedlings
for the degraded hillsides around their villages,’ noted ATP founder Carolyn
Mugar. `ATP has found a way to create reliable `micro-enterprise’
partnerships with these families, and we are grateful to the Bilezikian
Family Foundation for providing the support to bring their work to
fruition.’
The Bilezikian Family Foundation was established by Charles and Doreen
Bilezikian of Hyannis, MA. The foundation assists programs on Cape Cod and
other parts of Massachusetts such as the Home for Little Wanderers, and is a
major supporter of hospitals and schools in Armenia and Artsakh, primarily
through the Armenian Missionary Association of America.
ATP was founded in 1994 with the vision of securing Armenia’s future by
protecting its environment and restoring its degraded forests. ATP advances
Armenia’s socio-economic development by mobilizing resources for large-scale
reforestation, community-based tree planting, environmental education and
advocacy, and rural development through job creation. With the establishment
of the Mirak Family reforestation nursery and expansion of the Backyard
Nursery Program, ATP is working toward the goal of planting over one million
trees in 2006.
PHOTO CAPTION: Anoush Gezoughyan participated in ATP’s Backyard Nursery
Program by growing 600 maple seedlings that were purchased and planted in
the forests around her village in the Getik River Valley of northeastern
Armenia