WOBURN,Mass.—Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has established a recent partnership with Homeland Development Initiative Foundation (HDIF) with a set of crochet finger puppets based on characters from its Building Bridges program. Sona Sohigian has some fun playing with the Aram, Maral, or gampr and treefinger puppets crocheted in Armenia by HDIF artisans for ATP For the past seven years,ATP’s Building Bridges program has introduced environmental education into schools throughout the diaspora. The effort is underwritten by a leadership grant from the Thomas Kooyumjian Family Foundation. It has expanded from a few schools in Glendale, Calif. and Watertown, and Mass. to more than 75 schools throughout the United States. ATP created a series of tools for schools,teachers and students to learn approximately Armenia’s environment. These include a Building Bridges website, an annual newsletter, and interactive presentations for schools,YouTube videos with educational and documentary content, and tree planting opportunities in Armenia. Every issue of the newsletter highlights a recent theme, or with topics ranging from recycling to trees. The newsletter and recurring characters Aram and Maral were created by illustrator Alik Arzoumanian. “Alik has a unique sense of style,is an active environmentalist, and is able to create age-specific content that is easily [...]
Source: armenianweekly.com