Özyeğin University Bicycle Club Raises Awareness About Drought in Turkish Lakes with "Pedal Your Way to Save a Lake" Event

Özyeğin University students, renowned for their exemplary social responsibility projects in Turkey, continue to represent and pride our OzU family through their off-campus activities. In their latest initiative, the OzU Bicycle Club orchestrated the "Pedal Your Way to Save a Lake" event, held from July 6 to 12, 2023, as part of the “Pedal Your Way to Life” Project. The primary goal of this event was to draw attention to the increasing drought and water scarcity caused by climate change.

Placing sustainability at the heart of their initiative, club members pedaled along a route adorned with prominent lakes in the Lakes Region to raise environmental awareness and consciousness among university stakeholders and in society. Some of the key objectives of the event included observing the harm inflicted on agriculture and farming practices in Anatolia due to human-induced water scarcity, its repercussions on animal migration routes, and the resulting impact on the ecosystem and the challenges faced in human life. Members of the OzU community from various departments also joined the students in this meaningful activity.

The participants successfully blended together professional discipline with their amateur spirit, all thanks to regular team riding training provided in traffic, practical team riding management training offered to ride leaders, and a certified first aid-trained support team. They had been tirelessly practicing for approximately one year for this event, which featured the following destinations along its route:

July 6 – Acıgöl (Afyonkarahisar)
July 7 – Akgöl and Salda Lakes (Burdur)
July 8 – Lake Yarışlı and Lake Burdur (Burdur)
July 9 – Lake Eğirdir (Isparta)
July 10 and 11 – Lake Beyşehir (Konya)

The names of the students who participated in the event are as follows: Arif Çakır, Arzu Nalbant, Emin Erol, İpek Debreli, Hayri Çivlik, Darya Mahcup, Nehir Kırmızısakal, Talha Soylu, Edanur Başer, Ramazan Soylu, Ercan Seviktek, and Kaan Gönenli.

We would like to express our gratitude to the following OzU members and individuals/organizations who supported the Bicycle Club in making this meaningful event possible:

Prof. Dr. F. Esra Gençtürk, Rector
Nilüfer Uğur Dalay, Dean of Students
Dr. Şerife Arslan, Student Development and Experience Director
Dr. Lecturer Metin Çavuş, Communication Design Department Head
Volkan Davut Mengi, Instructor
Hikmet Taşdemir, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Coordinator
Sinem Çakır, Social Activities Coordinator, and unit members Şevval Çakır, Gürkan Karabulut, and Emel Kısmet Aydınlı
Arda Küçük from the Sustainability Platform
Metin Açıkalın, Athletic Center Manager, and Doğucan Bilgetürk, Sports Specialist
Outdoor Club
SAS Club
Selim Özkan and Cevat Günay, bus drivers
Başmakçı Municipality
Yarışlı Village Mukhtarship and Mr. Ercan
Öztürk Sarıca, Founder of the Lisinia Nature Project Area, and Nature Volunteer
Senir Municipality
Eğirdir Fisheries Research Institute (SAREM)
Gedikli Village Mukhtarship
Yenişarbademli Municipality
Beyşehir Municipality
Beyşehir Culture and Tourism Association
Beyşehir Cyclists Society
Suphi, Muammer, Hatice, and Bediya Çakır from Küllüce Village
Hüseyin and Şerife Okudan from the town of Başmakçı
Cyclists who supported the route planning process: Esma Eser Açıkgöz, Mustafa Büyükkafalı, and the Hepşenler Family

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the dedicated stakeholders whose invaluable contributions have made this meaningful project possible. Their support has been instrumental in bringing this project to life, and we are truly thankful for their generosity and collaboration. We also would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the aforementioned members of the OzU community for consistently filling us with pride through their exceptional projects!