At Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), a "Spring Festival Tree Planting Ceremony" was held.

As part of World Forestry Day and Forest Week, approximately 1,200 saplings were planted in an area of about 20,000 square meters between the Hocalı Monument and İncesu Stream.

OMU benefactor businessman Erdemoğlu donated all the saplings

Businessman İbrahim Erdemoğlu, a benefactor of OMU, provided all 1,200 saplings planted during the ceremony. The event was attended by Mehmet Muş, Chairman of the TBMM Plan and Budget Committee and AK Party Samsun Deputy, Samsun Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Demir, OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, OMU benefactor businessman İbrahim Erdemoğlu, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Selim Eren, Secretary-General Prof. Dr. İdris Varıcı, faculty deans, academics, and students.

Speaking at the event, Mehmet Muş, Chairman of the TBMM Plan and Budget Committee and Samsun Deputy, thanked businessman İbrahim Erdemoğlu for donating the saplings. Reminding that Erdemoğlu has been involved in aid activities all over Türkiye, Muş said, "He is an entrepreneur, an enterprising person, and a successful businessman who emerged from this country's soil, making all his investments in this land, swelling our chests with his investments and his love for his country. I thank our Rector, our previous rector, and Mr. İbrahim, who came to our city just to plant these trees, for this organization."

Rector Ünal: "The Time Has Come to Protect and Revitalize Nature"

OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Yavuz Ünal, in his speech at the ceremony, highlighted the cruel treatment of nature while benefiting from it. Emphasizing the importance of programs to take care of nature, Ünal said, "It's time to take care of nature, revive it, and reorganize spaces so that humans and all beings can fairly benefit from and live safely in nature. Our university has achieved significant international success in the 2023 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, jumping 105 places to rank 364th. This indicates the significance of our meaningful efforts."

"We aim to strengthen the ecological balance of the region through tree planting"

Ünal mentioned that they transformed OMÜ into a fully living campus in line with their afforestation policy, covering an area of 8,800 acres. He continued, "In our campus, to preserve the comfort zones for birds and increase diversity, we have released about 3,000 partridges and pheasants in the last three years. Our goal was not only to continue education within buildings but also to create a campus environment that is rich in physical and social aspects. To this end, we planned to lay the groundwork for these studies by establishing the unique Wildlife Research Institute in Türkiye within the OMU campus. Including trees that birds and insects can feed on within the forest and that people can collect fruits from while walking around, a total of approximately 1,500 trees will have been planted in the afforested area. We are conducting afforestation work with pine trees and trees native to this region. The types of trees planted are also suitable for this locale. I thank our benefactor, Mr. İbrahim. The beautiful part is not that we found him, but he found us, which is much more valuable to us."

OMU benefactor Erdemoğlu: "Trees are a legacy for future generations"

Businessman İbrahim Erdemoğlu stated, "I am delighted to fulfill the promise I made, inspired by the tree planting certificate presented at the 'Career Days' I attended about five years ago. Creating a tree planting area on the OMU campus to keep my word makes me very happy. It's gratifying that this step contributes to the environment and leaves a green legacy for future generations. May it be beneficial for all of us."

Mayor Demir: "We attach great importance to afforestation efforts to protect nature and pass it on to future generations"

Samsun Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Demir also expressed his joy: "I am very pleased to be here with you on such a beautiful and meaningful day. Samsun is one of Turkey's unique cities, standing out with its climate and natural beauty. For this reason, we attach great importance to afforestation efforts to protect nature and pass it on to future generations. We appreciate OMÜ's efforts to support these kinds of activities."

After the speeches, protocol members and students participated in the tree planting together.