A Turkish man planted 30 million seedlings and grew a forest on barren land

Hikmet Kaya proved that good intentions and hard work really bear fruit. On the photos you can see Hikmet, a retired forestry manager, who proudly poses with a snapshot of the barren land he and his team have turned into the lush forest behind it.

Hikmet began his career in the city of Sinop in 1978, and although he retired 19 years later, his legacy has continued to grow - literally. During his tenure, he brought and planted 30,000,000 seedlings, working alongside his team and the villagers.

After his retirement, these trees continued to grow for a long time; and today this barren land has been transformed beyond recognition. During 19 years of afforestation, Kaya never stopped working. And 41 years after he started this ambitious afforestation project, he returned to the now lush land with a photograph of the once barren land, highlighting the vast difference in the landscape. Needless to say, he is very pleased with the result.

This is a great example for the rest of the country. Turkey has seen a 5.4% reduction in forest cover since 2000, according to Global Forest Watch. Deforestation has been the main cause of most of this decline, so it is critical to help reverse this process.

Fighting deforestation often comes down to changing government policy, so it's important that people know who they're voting for and that their environmental concerns be heard. However, that hasn't stopped the locals from taking matters into their own hands and taking action. From India to Ghana and China, people plant their own trees to make a difference in the world.

A Turkish man planted 30 million seedlings and grew a forest on barren land

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