ATP staff members stand with EU4ENVIRONMENT Green Community, Resilient Future sign at Gyumri Nursery opening

GYUMRI, Armenia—On June 5, Armenia Tree Project (ATP) opened a new nursery in Gyumri with the support of the European Union within the framework of the EU4Environment: Green Community-Resilient Future Grant Project and partners Armenian Energy Agency and Jinishian Memorial Foundation. The opening date coincided with World Environment Day, symbolic of the project’s goals and future impact. Representatives from ATP, the EU, Armenian Energy Agency, Jinishian Memorial Foundation, Shirak Regional Administration and Gyumri Breeding Station attended the opening event, praising the collaboration and the bright future of the nursery. 

  Located within the Gyumri Breeding Station, the nursery will serve an essential role in increasing forest cover, which is sparse in the Shirak region. Spanning more than two football fields in size, the nursery hosts a 234-square-meter greenhouse and has the capacity to supply up to 100,000 seedlings per year. Currently, 15 types of seedlings and shrubs are growing in the nursery, including pine, birch, pear, apple, ash, maple, oak, forsythia, spirea, dogwood, honey cherry, cypress and oriental arborvitae. The project combines community greening and green economic opportunity. Norik Mkrtchyan, director of the Gyumri Breeding Station, said that they can start selling the nursery plants next year.

“Protection of the environment is at the heart of EU policies. Through the European Green Deal, EU aims to be a global leader in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation. The European Union is committed to continue supporting projects in Armenia on biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, renewable energy, and sustainable waste management,” said Silja Kasmann,deputy head of cooperation from the EU, regarding the project. 

Armenuhi Vanoyan, grants manager at ATP, said, “After working on this project for more than a year, we are so happy to be opening this nursery and to create more opportunities for people in the Shirak region. The surrounding community will be able to purchase plants and seeds that are already adapted to their climate. We hope this will lead to people greening their own spaces, creating their own backyard nurseries and food sources.” 

Since March 2021, ATP has worked under the EU4Environment: Green Community-Resilient Future Grant Project in the target regions of Shirak, Lori and Tavush. Through the project, ATP has planted 100 hectares of forests, greened more than 50 sites including parks, schools and community forests, provided green governance training to 10 village and regional administrators, established 150 backyard nurseries, trained more than 500 children in sustainable practices and topics and established 15 youth eco clubs. ATP will continue maintaining current projects throughout the grant period, at the end of which in March of 2024 information will be compiled to propose a sustainable and replicable model of green governance for other regions of Armenia.