The Man Who Planted a Forest Alone

The Man Who Planted a Forest Alone In 1979, a sixteen-year-old boy found dozens of snakes dead on a sandbar. There was no shade left to save them. Floods had washed the land bare. Nothing grew there anymore. So Jadav Payeng picked up a seedling and started planting. By himself. Every day he carried water from the river. Every day he planted more. People said he was wasting his life on sand. He didn't stop. Not for one year. Not for ten. Not for thirty. Slowly, the sand turned into a jungle. Then the animals came back. Birds. Deer. Even rhinos, tigers and a herd of wild elephants. In 2007 a photographer stumbled into it and couldn't believe one man had planted it all. His forest grew to about 550 hectares. Bigger than New York's Central Park. Today they call him the Forest Man of India. And he's still planting. One person can change the world. Comment TREE if you agree.