We are proud to announce that we have planted 326.790 trees for Spring Planting 2023. This is a big increase from last year. After already having planted a record number of trees in 2022, we announced that we would be doubling our original goal and planting 800.000 trees a year starting in 2023.
With the result of spring planting, we are confident that we will reach our goal in 2023.
As you may already know, we can plant bare-root seedlings only when plants are dormant. Because of that, Spring Planting is shorter than Fall. In Armenia, winter can last longer. The mountains may still be covered with snow at the beginning of April, and suddenly, in a couple of days, the temperature rises to 20°C, triggering plant activity. Such was the situation last year. Luckily this year, nature allowed us to start planting in early March.
Though we were interrupted by a few days of precipitation, we managed to plant almost twice as much as we did during Spring Planting 2022.
New Forests, New Lands
During Spring Planting 2023, we covered 116 ha of a new afforestation area in , Lori province. At 360 hectares, this land is more than three times larger than our preceding land plots. Furthermore, this is an ideal land compared to our first two afforestation areas. The altitude ranges from 1700 to 2000m, mostly with northern exposure, and the soil quality is excellent. This allows us to plant many different broad-leaf species and shrubs. During Spring Planting 2023, we planted oak, wild apple, maple, pines, and shrub seedlings.
People Planting Forests
Urasar is a unique land with many advantages but also some disadvantages, mainly regarding accessibility. Finding good land often means going far from the beaten track. This means there are often no roads or only difficult tracks on muddy soils. Because we have to wait until the snow melts in late winter, we sometimes have little time until spring starts and plants become active. This is particularly true in mountain areas. Preparing for this is a major part of our work, as we cannot afford to lose a single day due to road conditions during the short planting season.
We had to stabilize a narrow trail so that a bus carrying workers or a small pick-up truck carrying seedlings could safely reach the planting area. This becomes a major challenge when one realizes
that there are 240 people and dozens of vehicles that need to go up and down the mountain every day. Despite the difficulties, our workers planted nearly 35.000 trees daily, bringing My Forest Armenia closer to its yearly goal.
At the same time, in the background, our nursery workers worked equally hard to provide the “front” with the needed number of seedlings from our two nurseries and the greenhouse. Early every morning, they dug up to 35,000 seedlings out of the ground, wrapping and binding them carefully in bunches of 50 seedlings in wetted jute cloth and then
loading them onto trucks to send to the planting areas. This part of our work should not be underestimated, everything must be perfectly synchronized. This work was easier with the greenhouse seedlings grown in containers. On the other hand, seedlings in containers are more cumbersome and much heavier to take up the hill.
Your Support Inspires Us
We are encouraged by our partners’ and donors’ support. It inspires us to do more and to cover more areas with forests. Remember also that the workers are incredibly grateful for the work opportunity you are providing. The many trees they plant give them some monetary income, which is almost nonexistent in the mountain villages. You, too, can join us to participate in this long-term investment for a greener environment by becoming a monthly donor.