In 2025, Sakarya University strengthened cooperation with local authorities, public institutions, schools, researchers, and community stakeholders to support the conservation and sustainable use of shared terrestrial ecosystems. These initiatives bring together academic expertise, public participation, and practical environmental activities, promoting responsible land stewardship and biodiversity awareness in the Sakarya region. Collaborative work is supported by the university’s Community Engagement and Sustainability Coordination Office (TOKAS), academic units, student communities, and regional partners.
On 20 November 2025, Sakarya University and Sakarya Technopark jointly organized a tree-planting activity under the “Green Homeland” initiative around the Fusion Incubation Center. The activity brought together university administrators, academic staff, students, and representatives of local government, including deputy mayors from Adapazarı and Serdivan. By engaging stakeholders in the development of campus green spaces, the initiative demonstrated a shared commitment to environmental responsibility, landscape enhancement, and the long-term value of vegetation cover.
During Forest Week, the “Forests and Climate Change: Protection, Sustainability and Steps for the Future” event was organized through cooperation among TOKAS, the university’s in-service training unit, and student communities. The programme combined expert discussion on the role of forests in climate regulation and sustainable forestry with fruit-tree planting involving participants. Together, these activities encouraged hands-on engagement with forest conservation and reinforced the university’s shared stewardship of green areas.
Figure 1. Tree planting organized by Sakarya University and Sakarya Technopark with the participation of students, academic staff, and local government representatives (20 November 2025).
The university’s community-oriented science activities are strengthened through Science&Future – The Science for Stronger Societies, an international science engagement initiative coordinated by Sakarya University and implemented with partner universities and public institutions. In this framework, university researchers and regional partners bring environmental knowledge and practical sustainability activities into schools, creating opportunities for young participants to understand the links between climate change, natural resources, and the protection of land ecosystems.
The project’s cooperation with public education stakeholders is reflected in the Sakarya Governorate’s account of the “Researchers in Schools” activities, which describes collaboration involving the Governorate’s EU and Foreign Relations Office and activities at 17 schools across Sakarya over the project period. Among the specific 2025 examples, the 21 February school workshops addressed carbon footprints, recycling, and reuse, while a 27 May school programme explored sustainable agriculture and land-related environmental challenges. Here, the value of the university’s contribution lies in mobilizing institutional partners and bringing science-based learning into community settings.
Sakarya University also cooperated with the Sakarya Regional Directorate of Forestry in a forest-fire preparedness programme held on 26 May 2025. The joint activity involved the university’s in-service training and civil defence units and personnel from the regional forestry authority. It combined an expert presentation on fire behaviour and prevention with a practical drill, helping participants better understand the protection of forest environments and the importance of coordinated risk preparedness.
Academic and public-sector collaboration was further encouraged by the International Biodiversity Conservation Workshop held at Sakarya University on 25–26 September 2025. Hosted by the Department of Biology, the workshop brought together academics working on ecosystem protection, including invited researchers from other institutions. Discussions addressed Türkiye’s ecosystems, biodiversity, and environmental challenges, while the programme also created opportunities to explore cooperation and joint projects among researchers and public institutions.
Together, these activities demonstrate cooperation at several levels: university units and student communities participate in campus greening; local government representatives engage in land-stewardship initiatives; the regional forestry authority provides specialist expertise; and academic institutions work with public stakeholders on biodiversity conservation. This coordinated approach connects practical action with environmental education and collaborative research.
Figure 2. forest-fire preparedness programme
Through 2025 partnerships in tree planting, forest protection, school-based science outreach, and biodiversity dialogue, Sakarya University advanced community participation in the sustainable management of shared land ecosystems. By connecting university staff and students with local authorities, forestry professionals, schools, and research institutions, these efforts reinforce environmental responsibility, strengthen the exchange of practical knowledge, and contribute to the objectives of SDG 15: Life on Land.
