On Sunday, July 14, 2019, the Educational Committee of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley will host a lecture on the “Armenia Tree Project – Celebrating 25 Years” presented by Anahit Gharibyan & Sarah Hayes. The lecture will begin at 1:00 p.m., after the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, at the Prelacy “Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian” Hall (6250 Honolulu Ave, La Crescenta, CA 91214).
Armenia Tree Project (ATP), based in Woburn and Yerevan, conducts environmental projects in Armenia’s impoverished and deforested zones and seeks support in advancing its reforestation mission. Since 1994, ATP has made enormous strides in alleviating desertification in the biologically diverse and threatened Caucasus region. More than 5,700,000 trees have been planted and restored, and hundreds of new jobs have been created for Armenians in seasonal tree-related programs.
ATP works to enhance Armenia’s economic and social development by mobilizing resources to fund reforestation. These new trees provide vitally needed food, wood, environmental benefits, and opportunities for economic growth. Our goal is to assist the Armenian people through the use of trees that will improve their standard of living and protect the global environment.
Anahit Gharibyan has been with Armenia Tree Project since its establishment in 1994. For 16 years she was the manager of ATP’s Community Tree Planting (CTP) program. Because of her efforts, ATP’s CTP program has planted and rejuvenated 1,026,857 trees at 842 sites all over Armenia and Artsakh. In 2007, Anahit Gharibyan visited Lebanon to help establish a tree planting program affiliated with the American University of Beirut. In 2010 Anahit moved to the United States to continue her work for ATP as Western Region Community Outreach Manager. She also promotes ATP through Building Bridges program connecting Diaspora Armenian students with their environmental heritage in more than 70 CA schools.
Sarah Hayes found her connection to Armenia when she served as an Environmental Education U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Sisian from 2005-2007. During her service, she secured a grant through United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to plant trees with students. After her two year Peace Corps service, Sarah relocated to Boston where she began working with Armenia Tree Project and is now ATP’s West Coast Operations Manager in Los Angeles. Since 2009, Hayes has managed ATP’s Building Bridges program and strongly believes that environmental education is important to help raise ecological awareness within the diaspora community, strengthen cultural identity and address global environmental issues.
We invite our parishioners and the greater community to attend Divine Liturgy and the presentation to follow. The event is free of charge to the public.