Aside from being beautiful, trees serve many functions – they provide shade, oxygen, and homes for countless creatures. In recent years they’ve also become one of our biggest defenses in the battle against climate change, as forests actually capture carbon, preventing it from entering the atmosphere.  

To leverage the power of trees to protect the planet, Hawaii pledged last year to plant and protect 100 million trees before 2030. The state will plant directly on public lands as well as partner with private landowners to plant native trees and remove invasive plants, which can be harmful and even intensify wildfires. The effort is part of the World Economic Forum’s initiative to conserve 1 trillion trees around the globe.  

As a science-based company, Bayer recognizes the risks posed by global climate change and is constantly taking steps to do our part in big ways and small, from global to local. Bayer Hawaii recently completed the first two phases of their own tree planting project – with many more phases to come – in support of Hawaii’s goal.  

Thespesia populnea, commonly known as Portia trees or Milo trees, are native to Hawaii and a common sight around the islands. Bayer employee-volunteers kicked off the first phase of this project, planting 15 native milo trees on Bayer’s Mokulele farm, the team set up irrigation from a nearby bamboo line to ensure that the new trees can thrive while conserving water. Tables and benches will be added to this space in the near future, creating a lovely, shaded break area for employees. 

“We work with the land every day, and we’re hyper-aware of how everything we do impacts the environment,” explains Tim Trudel, an Agronomic Research Specialist, who helped lead this effort. “It’s important to me and my team to do what we can to preserve our planet, and there’s no better place to start that than right here at home. I love that Bayer makes that possible and gives us a venue to make a difference in our own community and in a way that’s personally meaningful.” 

For the second phase of this project, Bayer employees planted close to 300 native trees on their Mokulele and Pi’ilani farms, including Milo trees, Hao, A’ali’i, Koaia, and 50 Wiliwili trees that the same team had grown from seed. In addition to capturing carbon, bringing biodiversity, providing shade and beautifying the landscape, these trees will eventually grow to create a wind break which will help protect the farms’ crops.  

“I really enjoyed being a part of this project,” says Julius Cuaresma, Seed Technician at Bayer. Julius and others on his team spent many days designing and setting up the irrigation it would take for the second phase of the planting initiative. Julius explains, “We were able to recycle irrigation supplies from another project keeping those materials out of the landfill.”  

And this is just the beginning of Bayer Hawaii’s tree-planting efforts. “Moving forward, we are hoping to continue the initiative on and off our farms, branching out into the community,” shares Tim. “I’m hoping to partner with other organizations and schools to continue moving this project forward.” Follow Bayer Hawaii on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on these projects and learn more.