A field practice on ecosystem services and OR-KÖY activities was held with fourth-year students of the Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, on 09.10.2026, as part of the Vocational Training in Enterprise (VTE) course. In the first part of the program, at the lavender field on the Isparta–Antalya highway, Fevzi CEYLANİ, Ecosystem Services Branch Manager, provided information on the inventory of non-wood forest products and the preparation of utilization plans. The processes of determining product quantities through sample plots, planning harvest periods and permissible harvest amounts, and recording inventory data in the ORBİS system were covered. The importance of the sustainable use of products such as lavender, thyme, laurel, and carob, and of protecting biodiversity, was emphasized.
In the second part of the program, accompanied by Ayşegül SELİMOĞLU, Çeltikçi Forest Enterprise Chief, and OR-KÖY Branch Engineers Haluk EROĞLU, Bektaş KARAASLAN, and Ayşegül GÜMÜŞ, the group visited a greenhouse in Güneyyayla Village, established with OR-KÖY support, belonging to a local resident. Information was given on the greenhouse’s establishment, standard project specifications, and production activities, and the role of OR-KÖY support in diversifying the income sources of forest villagers was explained. The contribution of this support to economic and social development, reducing pressure on forest resources, and preventing rural migration was emphasized. In this way, our students had the opportunity to evaluate the relationship between the sustainable management of forest resources and the development of forest villagers through examples in the field. We sincerely thank the valuable staff of the Isparta Regional Directorate of Forestry, who put great effort into the VTE practices and shared their very valuable experience with our students, as well as the other participants.
