Kline team members from around the globe got green(er) to celebrate Earth Day.
In India, staff members became gardeners-for-a-day to assist iamgurgaon, a citizen’s initiative focused on restoring the green habitat in Gurugram that has been lost to urbanization. Since its inception, iamgurgaon has planted more than 175,000 trees – its goal is to propagate 1 million local native species. The Kline group then made a stop at the Aravali oxy-van, a 180-acre forest restoration project, to help clear the grounds of weeds, plastic, and litter in preparation for tree planting.
“This area can play an important role in controlling flooding of Gurugram,” observes Kline’s Vice President of Technology, Duncan Lawie, who organized the event. “It will also be a recreational space that gives people a peek into the wilderness and diverse forest habitats of Aravalis. And it will have immense potential for improving the air quality in Delhi NCR by functioning as a carbon-sequestering zone.”
Our London offices, meanwhile, were already knee-deep in their sustainability initiatives last fall, when they traveled to Romney Marsh in Kent to support the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Since one of the significant hurdles facing bumblebees is the loss of flower-rich habitat, the staff spent the morning clearing grass from a field to enable wildflowers to grow better. In the afternoon, they planted bulbs in a churchyard to provide food for spring bumblebees emerging from hibernation.
“We also learned about the life cycle of the bumblebee and practical ways to help them in our own gardens, as well as practicing identifying species,” says Lawie, who organized the London event as well. “Some of us were even able to gently hold bumblebees before releasing them again.”
In observation of Earth Day, the U.K. crew returned to Romney Marsh to see the fruits of their labor — and discuss plans to continue work there this year, affirming Kline U.K.’s long-term commitment to sustainability.
In Prague, Marketing Coordinator Leah Hindman and crew headed out to plant flowers and a sapling. And finally, in the United States, staffers from our New Jersey headquarters gathered at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum, a regional center for horticultural activities that offers educational programs, tours, events, and an expansive collection of botanical literature in Morristown. The volunteer event, organized by Vice President of Consumer Products Carrie Mellage, saw the crew spend the morning raking, weeding, dethatching, pruning, and mulching – all during what doubled as a reunion.
“Some of us hadn’t seen each other since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic – that’s two full years — plus, we met two new staff members,” says David Tsui, Project Manager in our Energy sector. “Doing our part to help the planet was great, but seeing everyone again made the day even more special.”
