Dear Supporter,

The past week in functional forests has been full of fieldwork, working group meetings and activities. We tried to learn and think together in three non-stop days with meetings with different agendas. Once again, we realized that the greatest wealth of Functional Forests is the diversity of individuals that make up the forest. The functionality of forests will allow you to explore the underlying culture. Our functional culture will develop thanks to open, clear and sharing individuals.

We were in the precious sweetgum forests of Köyceğiz this week on our learning walk together. The squirrel and various vines that we ate fondly were wrapping the sweetgum trees. In the lower layers, species such as rabbit udder, oleander, fern, and horsetail supported trees. This functional unity that we see in nature adds a lot to us with the inspiration it gives.

The frankincense oil secreted by the tree is very valuable from a medical point of view. For this purpose, the length, width and number of veins to be opened in their trunks should be determined according to the diameter of the tree. It is very important for these trees to survive in order to obtain continuous oil from sweetgum trees. However, as soon as we entered the forest, we came across hundreds of sweetgums, whose entire body bark was completely stripped away and the veins were opened all around. The majority of trees will die without being able to heal. This plunder hurt all of us deeply, just like sweetgums.

After seeing the devastating effects of humans in the sweetgum forests, we decided to look at what invisible creatures are doing. We took a look at the soil samples we took from the forest and our application areas under the microscope. We dived into the colorful world of fungi, protozoa, nematodes, micro and macro arthropods, ranging from single-celled bacteria to insects that make up the soil food web. Once again, we have witnessed that underground life is constantly working for above-ground life.

Disrupting this cycle; We talked about how human practices such as insect control and weed control affect all life. We realized that all species other than humans, whether single-celled or multicellular, work hard for the continuation of life in proportion to their functions. We returned to ourselves and remembered once again that we had to work hard.

Hoping to multiply the times when we consider the functional effects of our choices.