Project 5: Urban Forest Day, Bình Lợi Commune, Vietnam

Date: June 8, 2026 Impact: 500 Trees Planted / 38 Laptops Donated / 45+ Students, Faculty, and Officials Educated

Overview: Growing Roots, Digital and Green

Our fifth mission brought us to Bình Lợi Commune for the 7th “Urban Forest Day,” organized as part of the Nurture the Future campaign. I co-organized the event alongside a broad coalition of partners: AWS Vietnam, Bright Vietnam, the People’s Committee of Bình Lợi Commune, the Bình Lợi Youth Union, and the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Management Board. Through Computers for Students, we set out to integrate environmental stewardship with digital inclusion—pairing hands-on conservation with technology education for the next generation.

The day brought together 35 local high school students from the Hoa Phuong Do Student Union, who took part as both learners and stewards. Our goal was to show that caring for the environment and building healthy digital habits are two sides of the same commitment to the future.

Technology Education and Digital Inclusion

Central to the mission was bridging the digital divide for students in the commune. We delivered technology education sessions and donated 38 laptops to support ongoing learning, ensuring that students had not only access to devices but the confidence to use them meaningfully.

AI Ethics and Digital Wellness

Building on our work in previous projects, we brought the conversation about responsible technology use directly to the students:

• AI Ethics: We discussed how to engage with AI tools thoughtfully and responsibly—understanding both their power and their limits—so that students can become critical, informed users rather than passive consumers.
• Digital Wellness & Mental Health: We explored how digital habits shape mental health, and how setting boundaries with technology protects focus, sleep, and emotional well-being. The aim was to give students practical strategies for a balanced relationship with the screens that increasingly surround them.

Environmental Legacy

The mission concluded with a physical commitment to the earth. Together with the students and our partners, we supported a community tree-planting initiative (500 trees). This act served as a living metaphor for our work: planting the seeds of digital literacy and environmental responsibility to ensure a thriving future for the next generation.

Some photos by MinhChan