Group of volunteers re-green burnt areas in the south

Ece Çelik - MUĞLA

Marmaris Nature Volunteers, who came together after the large-scale wildfires in Antalya and Muğla provinces two years ago, have so far planted 20,600 saplings and more than 40,000 seeds in the burnt areas while also organizing regular garbage collection events around the region.

During the massive environmental disaster in two southern provinces that reduced a green area of 60,000 hectares to ashes in 2021, a group of environmentally conscious people have formed an association under the name of Marmaris Nature Volunteers.

The group which started under the leadership of two shopkeepers in Marmaris district, Sinan Şengül and Osman Gök, currently continues sapling and seed planting along with garbage collection activities with 200 active volunteers.

Both the municipality and the General Directorate of Forestry provide logistical support to the volunteer group which has so far collected more than 100 tons of garbage from the coasts and forests of Marmaris district, the group has told local media.

Emphasizing that the group cooperates with schools on sapling planting and garbage collection events, founder Sinan Şengül stated that they attach great importance to the participation of young children at these activities as they think that people at an early age especially need to gain environmental consciousness.

“Our main reason for uniting is to plant more saplings and re-green the burnt areas. Both Marmaris and Bodrum districts are on the radar of construction companies. We don't want new structures to be built in these burned areas, and our biggest goal is to turn these areas into forests again,” Şengül also said, adding that they receive great support from the municipality and the General Directorate of Forestry.