I was born and grew up on the slopes of the Amanos Mountains, along the Orontes River in Antakya. I studied chemistry, with a focus on industrial and environmental chemistry. I’m a bird watcher, haiku and nature lover. I work on education policies, environmental / nature education, sustainability education, climate change education, ecological literacy and biomimicry. Since 2017, I have been monitoring K-12 education policies at Sabancı University Education Reform Initiative. Previously, I worked with the Turkish Association for the Protection of Nature (DHKD), Nature Association (DD), UNEP, TEMA Foundation and ÇEKÜL Foundation. I taught Ecological Literacy and Sustainability, and Biomimicry at Istanbul Bilgi University between 2015-2020. I am the co-founder of Nature Play House and the founder of the My Nature Friend’s Box game. I am a member of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) and Common Worlds Research Collective, and also a board member of the Network of Education Policy Centers (NEPC).

Burcu Meltem Arık
Education Reform Inititative