On Thursday, January 28th, the rain subsided and the sunshine returned. Exactly what we needed as we ventured outdoors, rolled-up our sleeves, and got our green on. Over 30 members from the salesforce.com Marketing and Alliances teams (and a few extra friends from R&D and IT) volunteered with A Living Library to plant a variety of trees at St. Mary's Park in San Francisco. A Living Library is a wonderful organization dedicated to environmental preservation and transformation. They educate and involve youths and adults at their various sites to bring life back to barren parks.
We arrived around 9:30 am and received an orientation about the program and park. After learning some key safety instructions, we were split into two teams. The first team focused on planting a coastal varietal of the California Redwood. These are perfect for the environment we were in and require little maintenance to grow and sustain. The second team planted Oak trees along the hills of the park, which isn't so easy when you're sliding down a wet hill.
Planting a tree is similar to building an app on Force.com. First, you need a plan and/or design. For us, the Living Library team had already marked where they wanted the trees to be planted and some had even dug up a few of the holes…that was nice. We learned that the trees need to be planted in a space that won't present problems in the future. For instance, the roots could unearth the adjacent area, or the branches may eventually hit the power lines.
Next comes the build or development phase. For us, that involved digging. With a shovel in hand, we worked alone or in groups of two to dig holes large enough to contain the base of the tree pot. Typically, these were 1-2 feet deep and about 1 foot in diameter.
Finally, the test and deployment phase. Here we would place the tree gently inside the hole and refill the hole to make sure it was packed in nicely. It's important that these young trees have enough support to withstand the natural environment during the first few years. To assist with the tree development, we staked two bamboo trunks, one on each side of the tree, and tied a rope around the tree and the bamboo stakes. After a few years, these will come down and the trees will be fine on their own.
We repeated this process numerous times and planted over 50 healthy Oak and Redwood trees. We covered the ground with some fresh compost and wood chips to add some icing to the cake. By noon, we packed up and left the park in a state more vibrant and full of life than before. I highly recommend participating with A Living Library and guarantee you'll love the feeling after you've planted your very own tree.
-- Sati Hillyer, Senior Technical Alliances Manager
