Third nursery in Haghartsin 

With the world’s and Armenia’s increasing attention on reforestation in order to face the climate crisis, we anticipate that demand for seedlings will grow sharply. So we decided to start preparation work for a third nursery in the village of Haghartsin in the nearby province of Tavush. The surface is 2.1 ha and is well situated at 1300 m altitude with mature trees bordering the eastern side. There is also a small river flowing alongside the field so watering the seedlings will not be a problem.

For now we will start fencing and do some basic land preparation. We are looking for a sponsor who would like to take this project with the ability to name it. Do contact us if you are interested.

Building a Greenhouse

In March we decided to build a greenhouse. This project is done in collaboration with the Agrarian University of Armenia in Vanadzor. With a generous donation from Dr Gary Assarian from Michigan, we were able to start work in April. The 300 m2 greenhouse is in front of the university. We will be able to grow 72.000 seedlings. We have already built 30 tables and bought 1500 boxes. We have made our own design for the containers. They should be ready in a few weeks. We still need to install an irrigation system and buy the peat and different materials. The operation of the greenhouse will start early next year.

Irrigation in Benjamin Gumuchdjian Nursery

We have installed a permanent irrigation system in our Gugark nursery, now the young pine seedlings can be uniformly watered every day as needed.

We will also look into installing a hail and shade net. Hail can be devastating.

Red Cross Training for our Nursery Workers

In May, we organised a first-aid training session for our workers. Touch wood, no accident has happened so far, but we felt that it is best to “prevent rather than cure.” So, with the purchase of a rather complete first-aid kit from the Red Cross, they also provide a free training session. Needless to say the skills learned will also be helpful in each person’s home.

First seedlings inventory 

On July 12th, we made the first inventory of the plants and shrubs growing in our nurseries. The estimations are:

One year deciduous seedlings ready to be planted in November 2021:  161.000

One year deciduous seedlings ready to be planted in November 2021:  161.000

Two year pine trees ready to be planted in November 2021/April 2022: 200.000

One year shrubs ready to be planted in November 2021:   17.000

One year pine trees ready to be planted in April 2023:  320.000

These numbers, particularly those for shrubs, should grow during the summer as roots develop enough for plants to grow leaves and start the photosynthesis process.

We will make a second inventory in September.