Whatever the number, Ethiopia is laughing at you.

We love a Guiness World Record. They’re exciting, excessive and often super weird (oh hi, world’s fastest toilet). But our favourite world records are the ones that are bringing communities together to do good. And that’s exactly what happened when Ethiopia broke the world record for most trees planted in 12 hours with 350 million seedlings.

This initiative was part of the “Green Legacy” campaign, a government-led movement to counteract the effects climate change has had on Ethiopia’s landscape. To put it in perspective, trees covered 30% of Ethiopian land in the 1800s. Today, only 4% of Ethiopia is forested. 

“Trees covered 30% of Ethiopian land in the 1800s. Today, only 4% of Ethiopia is forested. ”

Ethiopia is landlocked, which makes the effects of climate change even more devastating. According to the United Nations, Ethiopia experiences “land degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, desertification, recurrent drought, and air pollution,” as a result of the climate crisis. It’s particularly worrisome because 80% of Ethiopia's population depends on agriculture as a livelihood. As a result of these poor farming conditions, 35% of the nation’s population suffers from malnutrition. This is about a lot more than a world record. 

These are difficult statistics to confront, but Ethiopia’s plan to plant billions of trees (4 billion by November) is a scientifically proven way to combat the effects of global warming. A recent study shows that planting billions of trees could be the cheapest and most effective way to tackle the climate crisis. In fact, the number of trees Ethiopia plans to plant could remove a substantial portion of heat-trapping emissions from the atmosphere. Amazing! 

The millions of Ethiopians who are participating in the Green Legacy campaign are a true testament to the power of teamwork and perseverance. They deserve the world’s longest dance party. Which, as of now, is 55 hours.

You may not be able to plant 350 million trees in 12 hours all by yourself, but smaller, less record-breaking things still make a world of difference. Start by being conscious of food waste, reducing your use of single use plastics or wiping with eco-friendly toilet paper. Bet you know which TP we’d recommend.