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The plan is to walk a linear route from the Turkish Aegean coast in the west to the Turkish border with Armenia. This is a distance of c4,000 kilometres. During this journey I aim to celebrate the rich biodiversity of Turkey by recording as much wildlife as I am able to. I also aim to connect with as many communities, schools, colleges etc. to share stories. I will also visit as many Key Biodiversity Areas as possible; particularly those that either Doğa Derneği or KuzeyDoğa are directly involved with. 

After a wildlife holiday in southern and central Turkey during spring 2011, I fell in love with the country. The amazing biodiversity, awesome scenery and fantastic culture meant that it had a huge impact on my life.

On return to the UK, I was devastated to learn that the Turkish government had sold off all the country’s waterways to private corporations. There are now over 2,000 dams being built and over 1,730 hydro-electric schemes planned. The impact this will cause is disastrous. Not only will the habitats of one of the most biodiverse countries in the Western Palearctic be damaged beyond repair, but many small communities are likely to be displaced, thus destroying these traditional micro-cultures.

To put things into context, Turkey is currently home to:

30% of the global population of the Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis

more than 90% of the global population of the Cinereous Bunting

25% of the European breeding population of the Endangered White-headed Duck

more than 10% of the global population of the Endangered Egyptian Vulture

more than 70% of the global population of the near-endemic and Near Threatened Krüper’s Nuthatch

more than 30% of the global population of Rollers

Additionally, Turkey holds five endemic mammals (mountains here are reported still to hold the Anatolian or Asia Minor Leopard Panthera pardus tulliana), 52 endemic freshwater fish, 13 endemic reptiles and over 30 endemic plants.

Populations of most of these species will almost certainly be damaged by the hydro-electric schemes and dams. Additionally it is estimated that over 2,000,000 people will be forced to migrate due to these developments.

So this is the driving force for my project; but there is more to it than this. One thing that I have learnt from the tattoo project is that positivity is far more valuable than negativity. I want to inspire people by celebrating the beauty of the planets biodiversity. People are very much part of nature and should be included under the same umbrella.