Tiếng Việt
On June 27, 2026, Keep Vietnam Clean (KVC), in collaboration with Tieng Viet Oi – Vietnamese Lessons, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and local residents, planted the first 100 Taiwan almond trees in Thu Lam Commune, Hanoi — marking the beginning of a community-led initiative to plant 500 trees under the “Clean-up, Green-up Our Cities” campaign.
The initiative aims to expand green spaces, improve air quality and create a healthier living environment for local communities. It also helps address the growing impacts of rapid urbanization and the urban heat island effect in Hanoi.
What this article covers
- What happened in Thu Lam Commune on June 27, 2026
- Why Taiwan almond was the species chosen
- The thing that matters more than the number of trees
- How to support the 500-tree project
A greener community space in Thu Lam Commune, Hanoi
More than 20 volunteers from Tieng Viet Oi – Vietnamese Lessons joined Keep Vietnam Clean members, local youth volunteers and residents in digging planting holes, placing saplings, covering the soil and watering the newly planted trees along the village roads of Thu Lam Commune.
The first 100 Taiwan almond trees represent more than an environmental initiative. They symbolize the collective efforts of volunteers, local authorities and community members coming together to create greener, healthier and more livable public spaces — a shared commitment to building sustainable communities and a better environment for future generations.
Why Taiwan almond was chosen for Thu Lam Commune
Choosing a species for a roadside planting project is never arbitrary. Taiwan almond (Terminalia mantaly) is widely used as a street tree across Vietnamese towns for three practical reasons:
- A tiered, horizontally spreading canopy — broad shade over the road surface without needing great height, which suits village roads that carry overhead power lines.
- Fast growth — usable shade within a few years rather than a few decades, meaning the community sees results early and stays motivated to keep caring for the trees.
- Tolerance of hard conditions — poor soil, strong sun and irregular watering, all of which are close to guaranteed for roadside planting in Thu Lam Commune.
This connects directly to the urban heat island effect. A canopy shading a concrete road does not only cool the people walking under it; it stops the road surface itself from absorbing heat during the day and releasing it back at night — the mechanism that keeps built-up areas several degrees warmer than the countryside around them.
What matters more than the number of trees
The activity also received strong support from Ms. Le Thi Quy, Head of Thuy Loi Village, Thu Lam Commune, who played an important role in encouraging local residents to participate in and take ownership of the trees’ care.
That detail matters more than it looks. In any tree-planting project, the hard part is not the planting but the keeping. One morning is enough for 20 people to get 100 saplings into the ground; getting those 100 through their first dry season takes someone watering regularly for months, someone re-staking what a storm knocks over, and neighbours reminding each other not to tether livestock to a young trunk.
No organisation based elsewhere can do that on the community’s behalf. Only the people living beside the trees can. The village head mobilising residents from day one is therefore not a courtesy line in a press release — it is the mechanism that determines the survival rate of the whole project. The number worth checking twelve months from now is not how many trees were planted in Thu Lam Commune, but how many are still alive.
Promoting sustainable living through environmental training
In addition to the tree-planting activity, Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Diep, Director of Keep Vietnam Clean, ran an environmental education session for volunteers and residents on waste sorting at source and the 5R model:
- Refuse — turn down what you do not actually need
- Reduce — consume less in the first place
- Reuse — use again before considering disposal
- Recycle — reprocess what can no longer be used
- Re-earth — compost organic matter and return it to the soil
The order of the 5Rs is not decorative — it is a descending order of priority. Many people assume recycling is the strongest environmental action available to them, but it ranks fourth. Not buying something beats recycling it, because recycling still consumes energy, water and transport.
Pairing this session with the planting had a logic to it. Trees and waste are two sides of the same question about shared space: a road lined with trees but strewn with litter is still not somewhere people want to be. The session encouraged participants to adopt more sustainable daily habits while highlighting the importance of community action in reducing waste.
The journey to 500 trees in Thu Lam Commune continues
These first 100 trees are an opening milestone — 20% of the target of planting 500 trees across Thu Lam Commune throughout 2026.
In the coming months, KVC will continue working with local authorities, community organizations, businesses and volunteers to complete the project while monitoring the trees to ensure a high survival rate and long-term environmental impact.
Keep Vietnam Clean sincerely thanks Tieng Viet Oi – Vietnamese Lessons, a Vietnamese language centre with more than ten years of experience connecting cultures and people, Ms. Le Thi Quy, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and all the residents of Thu Lam Commune for their invaluable support in making this initiative possible.
Every tree planted today is an investment in a greener, healthier and more resilient future. You can read our story or follow our recent activities.
Partner with Keep Vietnam Clean to build an effective CSR program
At Keep Vietnam Clean, we work with businesses to design and implement environmental CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs, including cleanup activities, tree planting, public space improvement, and initiatives that connect employees with local communities — including projects like the one under way in Thu Lam Commune.
Each program is developed based on the actual needs of the local area, with a focus on measurable outcomes and creating long-term value for both communities and businesses. Every activity closes with a short report — trees planted, locations, participants, volunteer hours, and survival rate tracked afterwards — that a company can put straight into its own sustainability reporting, as international frameworks such as the UN Global Compact increasingly expect.
If your business is looking for a CSR program that creates positive environmental impact, strengthens employee engagement and supports your sustainable development goals, Keep Vietnam Clean is ready to work with you to develop a solution that fits your organization.
- Register for a consultation: keepvietnamclean.org/our-services
- Email: info@keepvietnamclean.org
- Contact: +84 97 450 63 50
