Planting Trees in India: Green Team #GenerationRestoration

Trees absorb carbon dioxide, prevent soil erosion, prevent water pollution, and are a renewable energy source. To celebrate World Environment Day, the Akamai India employees came together at the first flush of morning for a tree planting drive at the Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru.

The Victoria hospital management team was thrilled to collaborate with Akamai to work toward restoring our environment. The hospital team had been planning to plant trees on their vast campus for more than a year, and we were the first team to make that a reality.

After a very warm welcome and a fun icebreaker question, we were introduced to the medicinal plants that we were going to plant. There were many varieties of saplings — some popular ones were vasaka, water hyssop (brahmi plant), bacopa, lemongrass, patchouli, and ayapana, which have all been used for centuries in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

Some of these are rejuvenating herbs that help to enhance brain functions, reduce stress, or relieve pain; some are also used to make essential oils.

To successfully plant a tree, you have to find a suitable area, with the kind of soil necessary for the types of saplings you’re planting, and know where the utilities are located.

After determining the appropriate sites, the 25 of us divided into five separate groups so that we could cover a wider area with our saplings. Each team grabbed a few young trees, shovels, spades, and an axe — and got to work.

We placed the saplings on the ground equidistantly to see how they would look once planted. Once we had the plants in place, we dug a hole for each one, removed the sapling covers, placed them carefully in the holes, covered them with soil, and watered them.

As a part of this tree planting drive, the nature-enthusiastic Akamai employees planted 100-plus plants in two hours in the #oneAkamai spirit and proved that together we can make a difference and go #greenwithakamai.

We wrapped up the day with a healthy breakfast of idly, vada, sambar, and chutney served by our host.

This is just one of the activities that the Akamai’s Green Team community organizes. Our global Green Team leaders work together to spread awareness about different environment-related issues by engaging our community with events like river cleanups, beach cleanups, tree planting drives, webinars, and other thought-provoking activities.

Projects like these allow us to come together to achieve our collective goal of protecting our environment and making life better for billions of people, trillions of times a day.

Don’t know where to start? Here are a few simple ways to get involved:

• Educate yourself about reforestation 
• Get involved with organizations that promote tree conservation
• Consider gifting plants for celebrations 

Let us join hands in this journey of preserving our environment by spreading awareness and taking action today. Every step you take makes a huge difference.