Canadian Breaks World Record for Planting Trees: 23,060 in 24 Hours!

Maybe one day Antonio Moses, just like the mythologized Johnny Appleseed of the 19th century, will have a song written about him for all the trees he planted in a single day.

Guinness World Records confirmed that the 23-year-old from Québec planted 23,060 trees in 24 hours in summer 2021. He smashed a 2001 record set by another Canadian. No one knows how many trees the American naturalist John Chapman (aka “Appleseed”) planted in his lifetime, but many know his song.

“Oh and every seed I sow, will grow into a tree. And someday there’ll be apples there for everyone in the world to share.”

Moses had six people helping him. He averaged one planting every 3.75 seconds. It took him less than 15 hours to break the record. Ken Chaplin had set the record 20 years earlier.

“As soon as I passed that original record, I cheered up and hugged all the crew around me. I was stoked and happy, but not even 10 seconds after, I just kept going,” Moses told Global News, a Canadian television network. “I was like, ‘All right, what’s the next number I can hit, 19K, 20K, 21K, and finally 23 thousand.’” 

Chaplin planted 15,170 trees. He praised Moses’ feat. “Every generation needs a new hero,” Chaplin said. He was happy his record was beaten.  

Somewhere out there, perhaps, another planter who lived a long time ago is also cheering for Moses. 

Photo by Arnaud Mesureur courtesy of Unsplash.