A Vancouver man recently travelled to Kenya in a bid to set his second Guinness World Record for tree planting. Antoine Moses, originally from Quebec, began his career in the forestry industry about 10 years ago—and estimates he has planted about two million trees in that time. In Kenya, he planted mangroves, which require a different technique than the conifers he plants in Canada. “I went there two weeks in advance, learned from the local community, planted trees with them, learned the technique,” Moses told CTV News. “Making sure we’re planting the trees right, the right momentum, the right places, and the right timing. And we just ended up breaking the world record there.” Supported by a team of locals, Moses managed to plant an astonishing 47,460 mangroves in just 24 hours. It works out to an average of 32 per minute. He holds a separate Guinness World Record for planting 23,060 trees in 24 hours in Alberta in 2021. The records are different because the trees he plants in Canada require him to dig a small hole while the mangroves can simply be inserted into the mud. “For me it’s more about the total impact I can create on this world, the footprint I can leave and the fact that I know I planted two million trees and I want to plant another two million, and maybe more,” Moses said. Moses has partnered with Veritree, a company that not only plants tens of millions of trees around the world, but also monitors their progress and the impact they have on surrounding ecosystems and communities. “It’s about so much more than just putting trees in the ground. It’s about empowering communities, providing these jobs, looking at the forest-adjacent programs that the forest can help benefit, as well as setting these areas up to naturally regenerate themselves,” said David Luba, co-founder of Veritree. With more than four million followers across his various social media platforms, Moses has plans for leveraging that clout. “My goal is to help raise funds to plant around 25 million in the next few years but not plant them on my own. So, I have a team and I work with organizations now to plant those trees,” he said. It’s an effort to make the world a more sustainable place—one tree at a time.
