At the start of this year’s fall planting season, we had the honor of bringing Krikor Didonian and Vazken Davidian to ATP's forestry sites in Mets Sariar Village, Shirak Region, where together we planted symbolic birch and pine trees in memory of their late uncle and longstanding ATP donor, Krikor Didonian.
The Mets Sariar Community Forest Site is located in the highlands of Shirak Region. Most of the 106 hectares of community-owned lands allocated to Armenia Tree Project for afforestation are degraded lands lacking vegetation and especially trees. Accordingly, forest planting this environmentally degraded area is critical for providing windbreaks, preventing soil erosion and further degradation, and for regional water storage.
The recent ceremonial planting by Mr Didonian’s nephews marks the beginning of what will be The Krikor Didonian Memorial Forest. Covering 42 hectares, this forest will include thousands of pine, birch, oak, maple, ash, wild apple and pear trees.
Krikor Didonian was the son of genocide survivors. Born in Nicosia, Cyprus, he had a deep connection to his Armenian roots and culture --a trait he shared with his family.
Didonian’s commitment to trees is deeply rooted in his personal history and can be traced to the genocide memorial forest at the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) in Nicosia, which was planted by the orphaned students of the school in the early 1920s. Didonian was a full scholarship recipient of MEI and his life and world views were shaped by his attendance at the school. Fluent in several languages, he was passionate about all things Armenian, while maintaining his identity as a citizen of the world. All through his life, his lens remained wide and he kept an open mind and an openness to different ideas and cultures. Generous to his core, he knew he would not be able to enjoy the shade of the trees he planted, yet he planted those seedlings anyway so that the grown trees could provide shade and bounty for others.
His charitable spirit extended a special love for Armenian literature. At our site, we established a memorial plaque with one of his favorite poets, Vahan Tekeyan's poem called Reckoning. Tekeyan’s 1926 poem Հաշուեյարդար, sums up his life perfectly:
Հաշուեհարդար, ի՞նչ մնաց, կեանքէն ինծի ի՞նչ մնաց, ինչ որ տուի ուրիշին, տարօրինակ, այն միայն:
[Reckoning at the end of one’s life – ‘What has remained? What has remained to me from life? Strange, only that which I have given others, solely that.’]
A huge thank you to Krikor Didonian, the Didonian and Davidian cousins and their lovely family for their generosity to ATP and their faith in our work.
