At an age when most young people are thinking about careers and building their futures, Adesh Soni decided to build forests.
At just 22, he set himself an ambitious goal to plant 10 million trees across India. Many thought the dream was impossible. Some even laughed when he began planting in temperatures soaring to 42 degrees Celsius.
But he kept going.
He spent his savings buying saplings and struggled for resources. Through scorching summers, heavy rains, and countless setbacks, he continued planting them. His parents stood by him throughout, helping turn his personal dream into a growing movement.
One sapling became a movement
As the years passed, something changed. People who once watched from the sidelines began joining him. Strangers became volunteers, and volunteers became part of a larger mission. Adesh went on to found ‘Touch for Earth’, an initiative that encourages people, especially children, to take an active role in protecting nature.
Today, the movement has planted more than 14 lakh native trees across Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
But his work goes beyond planting trees. More than two lakh children have received saplings and been encouraged to nurture them, giving them a chance to understand nature through experience rather than hearing about climate change.
And where these native trees have taken root, life has followed. Birds return to the branches, butterflies and bees find food, and once barren spaces begin to offer shade.
For Adesh, however, 14 lakh trees are not the finish line. His goal of 10 million still stands.
His journey is a reminder that large movements do not always begin with large organisations or endless resources. Sometimes, they begin with one young person, one sapling, and the decision to keep going when everyone else says it cannot be done.
