Over the past 30 years, Yerevan has been quietly undergoing a green transformation, one tree at a time. At the heart of this effort is the Armenia Tree Project’s (ATP) Community Tree Planting (CTP) Program, one of ATP’s flagship programs, which has worked with the Municipality, schools, hospitals and community groups to create green oases across Armenia’s capital.
Since its founding in 1994, ATP has planted over 140,000 trees in Yerevan, covering more than 380 sites across all 12 districts of the city. This makes Yerevan a national model for urban reforestation in a region where rapid development, climate pressures, and dust pollution present constant challenges to quality of life. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), based on tree species, growth rates and local conditions these trees are estimated to capture nearly 27,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over their lifetimes. This projection aligns with international data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which reports that a single mature urban tree can sequester approximately 22–31 kg of CO. per year, depending on species and growing conditions (EPA, 2023).
Urban trees do much more than beautify the city. They play a crucial role in improving public health and well-being. Trees help cool the air by providing shade and releasing water vapor into the atmosphere, reducing the “urban heat island” effect that makes cities hotter than surrounding rural areas. In Yerevan, where summer temperatures soar and rain is scarce, this cooling effect is vital. Trees also reduce dust and airborne particles, which are prevalent in arid environments like Armenia’s capital, and improve air quality by filtering pollutants and absorbing carbon.
Beyond their physical benefits, green spaces have been shown to support mental well-being, offering calming, restorative places for residents to relax, walk and socialize. They even enhance biodiversity, giving birds and insects places to nest and feed, and strengthen community cohesion by making public spaces more inviting and accessible to everyone. These benefits are well-documented in research by the U.S. Forest Service and the World Health Organization, both of which recognize urban trees as vital public infrastructure with proven impacts on air quality, physical and mental health, and urban climate resilience (Nowak et al., 2018; WHO Urban Green Space and Health, 2016).