EventsArmenia

For the celebration of World Environment Day 2022, an event in the context of the #OnlyOneEarth global campaign, aiming to call for collective, transformative actions to protect and restore our planet, has been organized under the EU4Climate project. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by United Nations Development Programme in Armenia.

The celebration event was organized in collaboration with Yerevan Botanical Garden and “Green Training Center” NGO, on the 6th of June 2022, with the primary goal to raise youth awareness and interest in the EU4Cilmate project’s main activities and achievements, as well as to advance their knowledge on climate change and mitigation and adaptation measures against its impacts.

The event gathered together around fifty youth aged 14-15, active in environmental initiatives from five schools located in Yerevan, hosting them in the “Green Training Center” and in Yerevan Botanical Garden.

Firstly, the students presented the information on climate change, its impacts, mitigation, and adaptation measures, which was concluded with an online game quiz on climate change, protection and restoration of nature, mitigation, and adaptation actions. Ten winning participants were selected and awarded with EU4Climate project thematic gifts, such as T-shirts, caps, pens, and literature on climate change. The rest of the participating students also received encouraging gifts from the Project. During the study tour in the Center, they were acquainted with organically grown plants, trees, and various seedlings.

At the second part of the event in Yerevan Botanical Garden, they learned about the EU4Climate project aims and main goals and further watched two videos on solar energy and forest restoration, prepared under the Project They were guided for three educational excursions on endangered plants, flowers and trees grown in the greenhouse and fossils museum of the Garden and, on Armenia’s typical plants and animals in the Eco Center, exploring and learning more on Armenia’ biodiversity, local plants, and animals.

Further, to remain faithful to the campaign slogan “Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature”, the youth participated in the outdoor cleaning and nature caring activities around the Garden by collecting waste, dried remains of trees and bushes, removing old food bowls and signboards, and replacing old waste bins with the new metal, 3-sectioned recycling bins donated by EU4Climate project. The bins will help to ensure proper waste collection for plastic, glass, and mixed types respectively in the territory of the Garden.

Furthermore, a projector was handed to Yerevan Botanical Garden as an incentive to advance educational knowledge building on climate change, nature protection, and environmental action.

The youth were delighted about their direct engagement in the event and were motivated to learn more about the environment and ecosystems, climate change, and environmental actions. They acted as real change makers showing their environmental responsibility and caring behavior by collecting and sorting waste in the new recycling bins and were happy to realize their supportive attitude toward the Garden through the mentioned activities within the event.

Media contact: Ofelya Sukiasyan, Public Outreach Assistant, UNDP Armenia Climate Change Programme, +374 10 58 39 20 (13), ofelya.sukiasyan@undp.org