Turkish basketball club to support eco-project

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish basketball club, Turk Telekom will to contribute to the country's recent eco-project, donating saplings for a greener Turkey during their league match on Sunday

Turk Telekom basketball club from capital Ankara said on Twitter that they promised to donate saplings for each spectator, who will watch their ING Basketball Super Lig game against OGM Ormanspor at Ankara Sports Hall.

The venue -- previously called as the Ankara Arena -- was inaugurated in 2010 to host the FIBA World Championship.

Located in the city center, the Ankara Sports Hall is able to host 10,500 spectators.

The game tips off at 8 p.m. local time (1700GMT).

- 11M saplings expected to be planted across Turkey

This week Turkey launched an environmental initiative to declare Nov. 11 as the National Forestation Day.

As part of this initiative, thousands of people in Turkey are set to plant 11 million saplings on Nov. 11, the nation’s president on Thursday declared the day National Forestation Day, founding an annual national holiday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said that planting saplings across Turkey will improve biodiversity, protect the environment, and contribute to environmental awareness.

He stated that the event will be held in all 81 of Turkey’s provinces. With 11 million plants set to take roots on a single day, the event is also hoping to set a new world record.

Erdogan added that it will be observed every year.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said Turkish people expressed immense interest in the Nov. 11 event, with the slogan “For a Greener Turkey.”

So far 13 million trees have been adopted, and over 9 million people are set to take part in the mass planting.

Besides the government, a number of NGOs have also joined the push to make Turkey a greener place.