I flew out to LA to plant trees, and I feel so cool every time I say that. Being an Intern at Southwest really does give me the Freedom to Fly, and not just for my own sightseeing and FUN. SWA gives me a chance to help others, like helping the entire city of Los Angeles in an initiative called: One Million Trees LA.
 
Five other Interns and I hopped a flight from Dallas after work on Friday to do something good for someone else. The goal of this project is to physically plant a million trees throughout the city of LA. Our goal was NOT to plant one million trees on Saturday (in case you were wondering), but is a combined effort by the community over a period of time. It is a cool concept which is based on the idea that more trees in an area can help create a canopy effect for the city. The canopy effect keeps the city cooler by providing shade, reducing energy consumption, and increasing water retention in the city. The benefits from this project will be reaped for generations years to come. Pretty awesome!

More than 100 Southwest Employees came out to help this past Saturday. It was cool to meet the LA side of the SWA family. They are awesome and I can testify that these guys work hard and can accomplish anything! Our goal was to plant 50 trees on Saturday, but in the end Southwest helped support the planting of nearly 70 trees!

It was so exciting to see the mayor of Los Angeles come out to our event. I was able to talk with the Mayor Villaraigosa about the importance and significance of this initiative for LA.  He made it very clear that this proactive approach is setting a precedent across America.

Everyone is talking about going green, but what better way to walk the walk than plant some green, everywhere.  Although the trees in LA won’t have a direct effect on me here in Dallas, this act of volunteerism shows the kind of Company that Southwest really is, and that they are always ahead of the game. I realized this weekend that my Company is having a huge impact on this city and there is immense gratitude for our involvement and volunteers.  Happy Earth Day everyone!  What are you doing for the environment today?