Education

Water portal in Turkey

The TEMA Foundation's "Water Outreach Program" developed content on water ecosystems, water issues, sustainable consumption, and water management in Turkey, and made it available to schools and the public.

Europe

Turkey

Istanbul

Funding period: 2014-2016

Turkey is increasingly experiencing extreme weather conditions characterized by fluctuating climatic seasonality with severe dry periods. Over the last 30 years, average rainfall has decreased by about 25%. Future climate models predict an even more drastic reduction and redistribution of rainfall, which will significantly affect both urban and rural populations.

To address this issue, the Wilo Foundation supported the so-called "Water Outreach Program" of the TEMA Foundation. The TEMA Foundation, with over 500,000 volunteers, is the largest and leading environmental organization in Turkey. The "Water Outreach Program" built upon the "TEMA Kids Program," which reached 15,000 students aged 6 to 14 years at 250 schools in 81 provinces of Turkey, and the "TEMA Ecological Literacy Program," where participating teachers were specially trained for this new educational task.

Infographics from the water education project complement the learning materials for schools in the booklet. Here is the visualization of processes within the ecosystem and their significance. Image: TEMA Foundation

The goal of the "Water Outreach Program" was to create a fundamental awareness of water-environment systems and promote the sustainable use of water in Turkey. Thanks to the support of the Wilo Foundation, educational materials (booklet and infographic poster) were developed, a web-based information portal on the topic of water (www.sutema.org) was created, and water-related topics were reported six times in the radio program Yeşil Dalga (Green Wave) of the independent broadcaster Açık Radyo (Open Radio). Content topics included, for example, "World Wetlands Day and the importance of wetlands" and "World Water Day and map of threats to water resources in Turkey."

Photo Header: TEMA Foundation, Istanbul

Our funding partner

TEMA (The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats) Foundation, based in Istanbul, is the largest and leading environmental organization (NGO) with over one million volunteers in Turkey. It was founded in 1992 by businessmen Hayrettin Karaca and Nihat Gökyiğit. The foundation primarily focuses on soil conservation, forest and water protection, and environmental education.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

What are the SDGs?