ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472 USA
Tel: (617) 926-TREE
Email: info@armeniatree.org
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PRESS RELEASE
April 22, 2015
Coalition of Businesses and Organizations Unite for Earth Day Cleanup of
Yerevan Children’s Railway
YEREVAN–On Saturday, April 18, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) organized a
large-scale trash clean-up at Yerevan Children’s Railway and the adjacent
river banks along the Hrazdan River. The cleanup is one in a series of
events being organized in Armenia as part of the global Earth Day movement.
“Our objective is a clean and healthy Yerevan,” noted ATP Country Director
Lucineh Kassarjian in remarks welcoming nearly 75 volunteers. “The
Children’s Railway is a popular gathering place for families in summer since
there are large shade trees and rides for children, so we are excited to
make the area more hospitable and beautiful. We thank all organizations and
volunteers that are present with us today with such enthusiasm and good
will.”
The initiators of the clean-up event were ATP in partnership with the “Barev
Yerevan” members of the Yerevan City Council. Two leaders of this community
service event were parliamentarian Anahit Bakhshyan and singer-activist
Arthur Ispirian. With the support of the City of Yerevan, three garbage
trucks were provided to remove close to 100 bags of waste collected that
day.
During the event, Lucineh recognized several other key partners: “We thank
Green Bean coffee shop for not only joining the event with their entire
staff, but also bringing sweets for everyone to enjoy. We also thank Deem
Communications for participating with their entire team and supporting the
organizing of the event. This was an excellent day to elevate the concepts
of corporate social responsibility and community volunteerism in Armenia.”
Other major partners who participated in the cleanup were the European Union
delegation headed by Traian Hristea, the Lithuanian Embassy represented by
Ambassador Erikas Petrikas, Jinishian Memorial Foundation, VivaCell MTS,
Birthright Armenia, Armenian Volunteer Corps, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur
Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Synopsys Armenia, Fuller Center for Housing,
Concept Studio, and Storaket Architectural Studio.
In addition to the cleanup, ATP has initiated a series of public tree
planting events for Earth Day. Groups of volunteers have planted fruit and
decorative trees at community sites in Kotayk region on April 16 and 23,
with other plantings scheduled later this spring.
Since its inception in 1994, ATP has planted more than 4.7 million trees,
established three nurseries and two environmental education centers, and has
greened villages, churches, parks, and open spaces throughout Armenia. In
the process, the organization has provided employment for hundreds of people
and provided vital resources to thousands of villagers throughout the
country.