Armenia, December 2021
The project aims to plant 20 800 trees on five hectares of mixed forest in the Dzoraglukh community in the region of Aragatsotn Provine, Armenia.
The first phase of the project was completed in 2021 and 10,400 trees have already been already planted on two of the above-mentioned five hectares. On the prepared soil, we planted seedlings of species including oak, pine, high mountain maple, birch, oriental apple, and Caucasian pear. Considering how shrubs are vital to the biodiversity of the forest, we have also planted yellow acacia and cranberry bushes.
Planting forests is always a challenge. A newly planted forest has two enemies: dry weather and grazing animals. This is why from the very start the local team worked on overcoming these threats, together with the community.
To tackle dry weather, the team opted for the groove planting method – that keeps rainfall water as close as possible to tree roots. At the same time, taking into account the lack of rainfall in this area during the summer months, an 800-metre-long waterline has been built. The plan is to irrigate the seedlings over the coming five to six years until they are mature enough to retain moisture.
To protect the young forest from grazing animals, the team has erected a fence with the help of local villagers. This action was extremely important, since there is pasture land bordering the forest, so without fencing it would be impossible to protect the seedlings from being eaten by grazing herds.
The community is actively engaged. When implementing a project, A Tree for You’s local patner Shen NGO is keen to bring the local community on board. A total of 277 villagers from Dzoraglukh are actively involved in the reforestation activities. Short-term jobs have even been created for 11 villagers to help carry out the project.
People are excited about creating this forest. They are sure this newly planted forest will prevent the soil erosion that is impacting their neighbouring land. The forest will also contribute to conserving biodiversity. Furthermore, the villagers will benefit from the fruit tree and shrub harvests.
In the spring of 2022, an additional 10,400 trees will be planted, and in the spring of 2023, 5,200 trees to reach the goal of 20,800 long lasting trees.
