Can a person have a forest?

The answer is yes. I have two forests; you can too. In two years I initiated two forests for my country, my land, our planet.

The first one is in İzmir's Urla district, in Kadıova, with 2,094 saplings, while the second one is in Balıkesir's Bahçedere district with 3,685 saplings; two huge forests. 

Last summer, on the occasion of my 44th birthday, I decided to create a "Forest of Hope."  

If you want to create a forest, the only thing you should do is contact the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA). They will immediately tell you the areas in Turkey that are allocated for reforestation. We agreed to make a Forest of Hope on the land waiting for reforestation in Balıkesir's Bahçedere. 

As an individual, you should donate at least 2,000 saplings at a given time, then you can officially have your own forest with your name on it. Number of saplings is much higher for institutions. 

When I spoke to TEMA last August, one sapling was 6 Turkish Liras. I told everybody they can donate any number of saplings on my birthday, here in my column and in all of my social media accounts. On the night of that day, 2,000 saplings were reached. Some donators donated one sapling, some donated hundreds. 

I started inquiring on Aug. 8 and announced it on Aug. 11. When I phoned TEMA on Aug. 12 and told them it was done, my heart smiled. 

My family, my acquaintances, all the beautiful people I know and I don't know, hundreds of them continued donating trees. The amount of donations reached 22,609 liras. More than 3,000 saplings were planted in the Balıkesir Bahçedere reforestation area by teams on May 31. 

My dear readers, who have donated trees...