Turkey gears up to plant 11M saplings tomorrow

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey is gearing up to plant 11 million saplings on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“On Nov. 11, which was declared as the National Forestation Day, we will plant 11 million saplings,” Erdogan said in a tweet on Sunday.

“We expect great support from our citizens to spread love for trees and forests, and leave the legacy of a greener Turkey for our children,” he added.

Turkey will kick off its biggest environmental festival to date on Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m. local time (0811GMT).

Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Ministry launched a campaign, Breath for the Future in late October.

The ministry will plant the saplings on behalf of people who adopted them online.

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

Erdogan on Thursday declared National Forestation Day as an annual holiday.

Besides the government, a number of NGOs have also joined the drive.