As part of the Vocational Training in Enterprise (VTE) course, hands-on training on forest administration and planning and on forest pest control was held in Dinar on 05.10.2026. The training was attended by Hasan ASLAN, Deputy Regional Director of the Isparta Regional Directorate of Forestry; İsmail HACIOĞLU, Forest Administration Planning Branch Manager; Recep KURADA and Mehmet YİĞCİ, Afforestation and Silviculture Branch Engineers; Mehmet KAPLAN, Deputy Director of the Dinar Forest Enterprise; and Ahmet GÜLLÜ, İsa KARACA, and Hakan DOĞAN, Chiefs of the Dinar Forest Enterprise Directorate. In the first part of the program, information was given on the preparation of management plans and their importance in sustainable forest management. Forest inventory and sample plot work were then demonstrated in practice. Our students took part in determining sample plot size according to stand canopy closure, establishing sample plots, and numbering trees. They became familiar with the instruments used for measuring diameter, height, and age, carried out practical exercises with a compass and hypsometer, and learned how field data are used in planning by examining cadastral, contour, and stand maps.
In the continuation of the program, pheromone traps and trap logs used in forest pest control were examined, and the purposes of these methods and the importance of regular inspections were explained. The role of beneficial organisms in biological control was discussed using a red wood ant (Formica rufa) nest observed in the field. In addition, information was given on marking hammer types, barcode tracking applications, and transport documents, introducing the recording and control processes for forest products. In this way, our students had the opportunity to evaluate together the field applications of work on the planned management and protection of forests. We thank the esteemed managers and technical staff of the Isparta Regional Directorate of Forestry, who spared no support for the VTE practices and shared their very valuable experience with our students.
