Turkish Education Union Takes Action for 'Green Homeland' Lost in Fires

ANKARA - Turkey's forests, which are considered to be the lungs of the country, have been under great threat in recent years, with fires causing devastating consequences. Türk Eğitim Sen, which is not indifferent to this painful picture, has launched a comprehensive afforestation mobilization called "We bring our Green Homeland together with New Saplings" and invited the Ministry of National Education to take concrete steps to draw attention to this vital issue. The union demanded that the main theme of the 2025-2026 academic year be "Green Homeland."

Climate Crisis and Human Factors Increase Fires

As is well known, our country has a huge forest area of approximately 23.4 million hectares. However, reports by independent organizations such as the OHS Assembly and official data show that this area is shrinking. According to the union, Turkey lost 0.18 percent of its forest area to fires between 2020 and 2024, and 0.11 percent in 2024 alone. This, combined with the fact that the summer of 2024 was the hottest in the last century and the driest in the last decade, turned into a major disaster for wildlife. Unfortunately, hundreds of forest fires broke out all over the country in 2025, destroying thousands of hectares of forested areas and threatening the habitat of dozens of endemic plant and animal species.

Citing United Nations data, the statement emphasized that forest fires worldwide are expected to increase by 14 percent by 2030 and 30 percent by 2050 due to the impact of global warming. The most alarming fact is that 96 percent of these fires are human-caused. This situation reveals once again how vital preventive measures and social awareness are.

Turkish Education Union's Concrete Demands to the Ministry

Taking action in the face of this critical situation, the Turkish Education Union's Central Executive Board sent an official letter to the Ministry of National Education with its demands. The union argued that the education system should play an active role in protecting the forests of our country, which it defines as the "Green Homeland", and to provide them with new saplings. The main demands of Türk Eğitim Sen from the Ministry were as follows:

• 2025-2026 Academic Year Theme: Determining the main theme of the new academic year as "Green Homeland".

• National Mobilization: Launching an "Afforestation Mobilization" across the country, including "National Afforestation Day" on November 11.

• Awareness Activities: Organizing various activities in schools to draw students' attention to the issue of "Protecting our Green Homeland" and raise their awareness.

Turkey-wide "Green Homeland Mobilization" Begins

Turk Eğitim Sen has announced that in addition to these calls, it will also implement a giant project within its own organization. The afforestation mobilization, launched under the slogan "We are bringing our green homeland together with new saplings", will include sapling planting activities all over Turkey through all branches of the union. This will not only make a tangible contribution to the reforestation of burned forest areas, but also raise the environmental awareness of the society, especially the younger generations. With this campaign, the union emphasizes that not only extinguishing activities but also protective and preventive measures are just as important in the fight against forest fires.