On Earth Day, USAID Marks Planting of More than 500 Trees and Other Improvements to South Park.
Ambassador Beyrle, Mayor Boiko Borissov (left) and USAID Mission Director Mike Fritz (right) were happy to award the young winners of the poster contest Megan Middlebrooks (l) and Marianna Karagiannis(r).
At a ceremony on April 22, the day of international celebrations of Earth Day, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) commemorated the donation of more than 500 newly planted trees and improved infrastructure in the South Park of Sofia. Ambassador Beyrle, Sofia Mayor Boiko Borissov, USAID Mission Director Michael Fritz, and Ginka Kapitanova, Executive Director of the Foundation for Local Government Reform, spoke at the event and unveiled a stone marking the donation. USAID collaborated on the park improvement initiative with Sofia Municipality as part of a series of activities to mark the completion of USAID programs in Bulgaria.
One of the youngest participants in the ceremony in South Park is very interested in receiving USAID promotional posters.
In addition to planting 570 trees, USAID assisted in installing seven new light poles, repairing three existing light poles, and installing ten new benches in the park. USAID is also supporting the Bulgarian Environmental Partnership Foundation (BEPF) in an initiative to raise funds for further park improvements.
USAID also worked in partnership with the Community Foundations in Stara Zagora, Chepalare, and Yambol to replant trees destroyed by forest fires in the summer of 2007. Approximately 100,000 trees will be planted by these local organizations.
