Today I want to share a part of my journey that has deeply shaped my sense of purpose, collaboration, and impact — my experience with Plant-for-the-Planet.
When I first came across Plant-for-the-Planet, I was struck by how a global climate movement could be both ambitious in its goals and inclusive in its approach. It isn’t just another environmental organisation — it is a youth-empowerment and restoration movement that believes in practical, scalable solutions in the fight against the climate crisis. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
What Plant-for-the-Planet Is
Plant-for-the-Planet began in 2007 when nine-year-old Felix Finkbeiner proposed that children around the world could plant one million trees in every country to combat climate change — a simple but powerful idea rooted in action and justice. (Wikipedia)
Over the years, this idea evolved from grassroots climate activism into a global movement focused on restoring forests, empowering youth as Climate Justice Ambassadors, and providing free tools and platforms for restoration work. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
Today, Plant-for-the-Planet’s mission includes:
- Empowering children and youth through climate education and leadership training. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
- Supporting forest restoration and conservation projects in ecosystems across the world. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
- Providing free, transparent digital tools that help people donate to, monitor, and manage restoration projects. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
Their global vision — to plant one trillion trees — guides much of the organisation’s work and underscores how nature-based solutions are central to tackling climate change. (Wikipedia)
Joining the Movement Through Code
My contribution to Plant-for-the-Planet began in a way that reflects both my values and my skill set — through open-source development.
In 2020, I started contributing to the Plant-for-the-Planet Web App — an open-source platform called Forest Cloud that powers key parts of the Trillion Tree Campaign. (GitHub)
Forest Cloud and its associated ecosystem — including tools like TreeMapper and the Restoration Platform — are aimed at making reforestation transparent, traceable, and accessible to individuals, organisations, and communities around the world. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
By March 2022, I had become one of the top open-source contributors to the project (ranked #2 by contributions in the planet-webapp repository between June 2020 and March 2022). This was more than writing code — it was about building infrastructure for impact. Seeing features come to life and help visualise tree donations or restoration progress was deeply motivating and taught me a lot about collaborative, purpose-driven software development.
What I Learned Along the Way
Working with Plant-for-the-Planet reinforced some powerful lessons:
1. Climate action is both local and global.
Plant-for-the-Planet connects local planting efforts and youth leadership with a global framework and tools that unlock resources for restoration everywhere. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
2. Technology can democratise impact.
By contributing to open-source platforms, I saw first-hand how accessible digital infrastructure can enable anyone to support restoration, track progress, and donate with confidence. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
3. Youth leadership is real leadership.
The organisation’s model — training Climate Justice Ambassadors through peer-to-peer learning and action — shows how young people can not only lead but educate others and shape real outcomes. (Plant-for-the-Planet)
Looking Back, Moving Forward
My time with Plant-for-the-Planet wasn’t just a chapter in my professional journey — it was a worldview shift. I appreciated being part of a community that tackles one of our generation’s biggest challenges while staying anchored in optimism and measurable action.
Even now, when I think about climate solutions, I think about forests, community, and transparent tools — and how each of us, regardless of age or background, can contribute in meaningful ways. Plant-for-the-Planet gave me a space to do that, and I’m grateful for every line of code, every discussion, and every shared mission that made this journey unforgettable.
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