The Türkiye Diyanet Foundation (TDV) has planted more than 925,000 saplings and established 35 memorial forests across 29 provinces under its “One Good Deed, One Sapling” campaign.
The project, launched in cooperation with the General Directorate of Forestry under the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry in May 2021, prioritizes areas affected by forest fires while supporting afforestation efforts nationwide, the foundation said in a statement.
The campaign is carried out with contributions from TDV branches, provincial and district mufti offices, donors and volunteers. The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), the Netherlands Diyanet Foundation and the Danish-Turkish Diyanet Foundation also support the initiative.
The 35 memorial forests have been established in 29 provinces, including Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Van, Elazığ, Istanbul, Antalya, Çanakkale, Sivas, Adıyaman, Konya and Diyarbakır.
Memorial forests dedicated to those killed in Gaza have been established in Istanbul and Bursa, while a separate forest honoring earthquake victims has been created in Gaziantep.
Saplings are selected according to local climate and soil conditions. Species planted include cedar, Turkish red pine, almond, pistachio, mahaleb cherry, ash and various fruit trees.
The foundation is also organizing planting activities through its provincial and district branches to mark National Afforestation Day on Nov. 11.
The project has so far brought 925,235 saplings into the soil. The foundation expects the number of memorial forests to reach 40 and the total number of saplings to hit 1 million after autumn planting activities in Erzincan, Yozgat, Kırıkkale, Çorum and Nevşehir are completed by the end of the year.
