A campaign launched by the Eylül Automobile and Tractor Museum in Çanakkale has raised donations for 10,000 saplings to be planted in areas damaged by wildfires, with participants writing their names on a Ferrari SF90 displayed at the museum.
The museum in the Geyikli town of Ezine district launched the “From Signature to Forest” campaign on Sept. 3 under the theme “Your Signature on a Ferrari, Your Mark in the Forest” to support reforestation efforts following wildfires in the province.
Participants first donated money to a bank account belonging to the Çanakkale Regional Directorate of Forestry and then wrote their names on the Ferrari SF90, valued at approximately 80 million Turkish lira ($1.9 million), displayed at the entrance of the museum.
The campaign quickly attracted strong interest from visitors and people who contacted the museum through social media. The initial target of 10,000 saplings was reached within a few days.
The saplings will be planted in areas damaged by forest fires as part of National Afforestation Day events on Nov. 11.
Zafer Avcı, director of the Eylül Automobile and Tractor Museum, said they had planned a social responsibility campaign for September and decided to support the reforestation of areas affected by forest fires in Çanakkale.
“We are now in a position to create a memorial forest, but our campaign is continuing. We believe we will collect enough saplings to create two or three memorial forests,” Avcı said.
He said visitors to the museum were writing their names on the Ferrari, while those unable to visit were contacting the museum through social media and sending proof of their donations.
“The campaign has attracted a lot of interest. We are very happy,” he said.
Avcı said the donated saplings would be planted in new forest areas prepared by the Çanakkale Regional Directorate of Forestry.
“We decided to launch this campaign because our forests are more valuable than a Ferrari. The car will be cleaned after the campaign and continue to be displayed at our museum, but the names of all these people will remain in the forests,” he said.
