Learn Turkish: Ormanda piknik yapmayı seviyorum. - I like having picnics in the forest.

In Turkish, the verb sevmek (to like) requires its direct object to take the accusative case. To add this case ending to an action, we change the infinitive yapmak (to do) into the short verbal noun yapma, add the buffer letter y, and then attach the accusative suffix -ı. This makes yapmayı the specific object of what you like.

Why is the verb yapmak (to make/do) used here for 'having' a picnic?

Turkish frequently pairs nouns with yapmak (to do/make) to describe participating in an activity. While in English you 'have' a picnic, in Turkish you literally 'do' a picnic (piknik yapmak). Other similar phrases include spor yapmak (to exercise) and alışveriş yapmak (to go shopping).

The English translation says 'I like,' which is simple present. Why does the Turkish sentence use the continuous tense seviyorum?

In Turkish, the present continuous tense with -iyor is very often used for feelings, states of mind, and ongoing preferences. While you could also use the simple present/aorist tense and say severim, seviyorum is extremely common in daily speech to simply mean 'I like' or 'I love'.

Why is Ormanda placed at the very beginning of the sentence?