Earthwatch Institute
3 Clock Tower Place, Suite 100
Maynard, MA 01754
Phone: (978) 461-0081
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Earthwatch Institute helps Armenia to rebuild its past
~ New 2007 volunteer opportunities ~
Maynard, Massachusetts. 28 March 2007. Earthwatch, the international
environmental organization, is pleased to announce the launch of a new
research expedition in Armenia, which aims to preserve the country’s unique
heritage with the help of international volunteers.
In 1988 an earthquake damaged or destroyed 80 percent of the buildings in
the Armenian city of Gyumri, leaving half a million people homeless.* Nearly
twenty years later, attempts to rebuild this historic city are finally
moving forward.
As part of this effort, Earthwatch will recruit volunteers to help document
the region’s ancient architecture. This information will then be passed on
to local planners, architects, and designers.
Armenia has been a crossroad of cultures for more than 2,000 years with
Greeks, Romans, Russians, and Turks leaving their mark on its land and
people. The country’s tenacious cultural identity has been preserved in its
distinctive architecture, but without careful documentation of remaining
buildings, these features may be lost.
`The new buildings, constructed after 1988, do not reflect Armenia’s
distinct heritage and character’, says Earthwatch researcher Jane Britt
Greenwood. `I hope that this project will help them to preserve their
history and prove useful for managing future city growth and economic
development.’ **
The project will provide members of the public with the extraordinary
opportunity to gain an intimate knowledge of Armenian culture. Volunteers
will spend their days in the Kumayri Historic District sketching, measuring,
and photographing historic buildings alongside local architects. They will
also speak with local homeowners about interior and external architectural
features before the earthquake.
Earthwatch needs volunteers for 11 days from June 12 – June 22, June 26 –
July 6, July 10 – July 20 and July 24 to August 3 2007. The project costs
$3049, which is a tax deductible donation that supports the research and
covers accommodation in a local hotel, food and training.
For more information about this project visit
Fo r more information about Earthwatch visit
For press enquiries, images and interviews contact Zoe Gamble, Earthwatch PR
Manager, [email protected] / + 44 (0) 1865 318852 / + 44 (0)
7725690469.
Editor’s Notes:
* Gyumri was founded in 5th century B.C. by the Greeks. However,
archaeologists have found remnants of human life dating back 100,000 years
that suggest almost continuous habitation. Gyumri has had a series of names
and hosted a multitude of cultures over the years, which have lent the city
its unique conglomeration of architectural styles.
** In the early 1990s, Jane Britt Greenwood AIA was hired as the University
Architect for the newly founded American University of Armenia (AUA) located
in Yerevan, Armenia. During the eighteen months she spent in Armenia she was
the architectural liaison between the University of California and the
Armenian Armstate project on the design and development of a Master Plan for
an American-style university. In the 12 years since Ms. Greenwood lived in
Armenia, she has maintained old, and established new, professional contacts.
Since 2002 she has made yearly trips to Armenia and in 2004 co-founded
Historic Armenian Houses, an NGO that aims to identify, research, restore,
and preserve the residential vernacular architecture of Armenia. Since 2005,
she has been a consultant with City Research Center writing architectural
content and providing English language editing for the Alexandrapol project.
§ Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit environmental
organization whose mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field
research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for
a sustainable environment.
§ Earthwatch Institute was founded in Boston, USA, in 1971. Affiliate
offices are based in UK, Australia and Japan.
§ Earthwatch currently supports over 130 environmental research projects in
50 countries by providing funds and paying volunteers who work alongside
leading field scientists and researchers.
§ Since 1971 the worldwide organization has recruited over 81,000
volunteers in support of 2,800 field research projects in 118 countries.
These volunteers have contributed over 10 million hours to essential field
work.