TAVUSH, Armenia – More than 120 schoolchildren from four border villages (Sarigyugh, Tsaghkavan, Achajur, Sevkar) in the Tavush region participated in environmental classes on forestry. The project was initated by Mher Atoyan, and was one of the winning projects of the Environmental Education Micro Project Competition.
Schoolchildren took part in seminars and classes about forests, particularly the connection between the forests and their environment, biodiversity, logging, etc. After the seminars, environmental groups were formed from each community consisting of 5-12 schoolchildren, and practical classes were held in the nearest forests of each community. Schoolchildren conducted research in the forests by examining the growth of the trees, environmental conditions, and tree reproduction. The gained data will be mapped in order to model the growth of trees in future.
The project was one of the 10 winners of the Environmental Education Micro Project Competition. The winning projects represent the best from a pool of 130 applications from across the country. The competition was administered by the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment. A selection team, comprising EEN members, reviewed and made the final decisions on the competition’s winners.
The competition is financially supported by the Norwegian Embassy Small Grant Program. The aim of the Norwegian grant is to develop environmental education capacities in Armenia, including the establishment and strengthening of the Environmental Education Network (EEN), a learning partnership between civil society, educational institutions, government, and international organizations.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment (AUA ACE), a research center at the American University of Armenia, promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. AUA ACE’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity and conservation, greening the built environment, clean energy, and energy efficiency, as well as information technology and the environment.
