He built a forest

Many people celebrated Earth Day last month by planting trees. Better yet, an Indian man may have already surpassed everyone’s efforts in that regard—by planting an entire forest. The Times of India reported last month that Jadav Payeng single-handedly planted a 1,360-acre forest over the course of 30 years. Payeng started the planting project as a teenager, and later moved into the forest to monitor its health. Located on a once-barren sandbar in the middle of a river, the forest is now home to thousands of tree species and wild animals as well as Payeng, his wife and three kids.