TÜRÇEV: 267 Schools Awarded Flags in International Forest Program

The International Forest Program in Schools, carried out under the coordination of the Turkish Foundation for Environmental Education (TÜRÇEV), was implemented with the participation of 617 schools in 49 provinces during the 2025-2026 academic year. Within the scope of this program, 267 schools were awarded the "forest flag."

According to a statement from TÜRÇEV, the program is run by the Denmark-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The program, implemented in Turkey under TÜRÇEV's coordination, organized environmental education activities aimed at enabling students to interact directly with nature.

The program was implemented in 617 schools across 49 provinces of Turkey during the 2025-2026 academic year. Environmental education efforts thus reached approximately 60 percent of the 81 provinces.

The distribution of participating schools was as follows: 453 preschool education institutions, 123 primary schools, 34 secondary schools, 5 science and art centers, and 2 special education institutions. Approximately 93 percent of the participating schools consisted of preschools and primary schools.

The highest participation in the program came from Istanbul (94 schools). This was followed by Antalya (49 schools), Ankara (48 schools), and İzmir and Kocaeli (39 schools each).

267 schools in 40 provinces that met the specified evaluation criteria were awarded the forest flag. Of the schools that received flags, 202 were preschools, 51 were primary schools, 10 were secondary schools, 3 were science and art centers, and 1 was a special education institution.

Of the schools awarded flags, 200 were state schools and 67 were private schools.

The aim is to spread environmental awareness throughout society.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdulkadir Ateş, Chairman of the TÜRÇEV Board of Directors, stated that environmental education should not be limited to mere knowledge transfer.

Ateş emphasized that they aim for children to grow into individuals who know and experience nature and develop a sense of responsibility for the protection of ecosystems. He noted that with the International Forest Program in Schools, they aim to spread environmental awareness from schools to families and the wider community.

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