YEREVAN (ArmRadio)—On April 27, the traditional flower gathering event took place at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex on the initiative of the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets. Since 2010, the flower gathering has been supported by the FPWC’s General Partner VivaCell-MTS.

The initiative combines the idea of giving these flowers a new lease of life and the environmental mission promoting recycling. The flowers laid at the Genocide Memorial on April 24 are gathered and their stems are removed from the petals. The petals are used to derive compost, and the stems – to make handmade recycled paper. The compost is used for the treatment of the soil in the Genocide Memorial Park, while the handmade recycled paper is used to make certificates or postcards. This year Yerevan Botanical Garden and ORWACO CJSC Armenian-Norwegian joint venture will help get bio humus from the stems.

“During the last few years, this initiative has become the natural continuation of April 24. The idea of the flower gathering has been so consonant with people’s expectations, getting an especially wide response among youth. The flower gathering is now integral force that drives tens of thousands to the memorial every year,” FPWC Founder Ruben Khachatryan noted.

The event was attended by hundreds of representatives of non-governmental and international organizations, private and public sector representatives, schoolchildren and students, ambassadors and officials.