Retired Forest Management Chief Plants 30 Million Saplings and Creates Forest on Infertile Land

78-year-old retired forest management chief Hikmet Kaya has proved that good intentions and hard work can yield big rewards. And he has posed proudly in front of the barren land that he and his team have transformed into a lush forest. He began his career in the town of Sinop in 1978 and while he retired 19 years later, his legacy has continued to grow—literally.

And 41 years after he first began this ambitious afforestation project, he returned to the now-lush land with a picture of the once-barren environment, highlighting what a huge difference there is in the landscape. Needless to say, he admits he's very happy with the results.He continued: "We tried to give the best service to the homeland, the nation, the state. I studied at a state-affiliated boarding school, our state took care of me there for 4 years. Considering these, I took it as my duty to provide the best service to my state as much as I could during my tenure.