ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two thousand trees were planted in Erbil’s Kasnazan forest on Friday, kicking off a civil society campaign to plant a million trees in the Kurdistan Region. 

A number of volunteers, made up of both locals and foreigners, took to the site over the weekend to replant trees after a major fire wrecked much of the artificial forest over the summer.

Hasar Organization for Earth Sciences, a non-governmental organization, is organizing and funding the project.

“We have announced a project to clean up the environment and raise awareness among our citizens,” Gashbin Najmaddin, executive manager of Hasar Organization, told Rudaw on Friday. “The project will be carried out in several stages and in all cities of the Kurdistan Region. It will take place next week at Sulaimani’s Goizha mountain.”

Organizers say they have chosen to plant oak trees, because they are sturdy, long-lasting, and are suitable for the Kurdistan Region’s climate.

Ralf Wilhelm, a teacher at the German School in Erbil, took part in the campaign.

“I see Kurdistan as a wonderful country, but there are not enough plants and trees,” the expat told Rudaw on Friday. “It is necessary to do something against that, and plant trees. It is work for the future. The next generation will be happy.”

Kasnazan forest is situated in eastern Erbil, and was built in 1998 on 840 dunams of land. It contains a total of 60,000 trees of various kinds, including pine trees. An estimated 8,000 trees were destroyed in a fire in June of this year. 

There are 22 other artificial forests in Erbil province, built on 8,346 dunams of land.

Photos by Bilind T. Abdullah, drone photos by Mohammed Othman 
Translation by Sarkawt Mohammed