A man named Jadav Payeng single-handedly built a forest on Majuli Island, located in Northeast India, one tree at a time.
Since the early 1900s, Majuli Island has faced a great deal of erosion due to monsoons, causing it to lose over half of its land mass and turn into a barren wasteland.
In an effort to save the land and its wildlife from completely disappearing, a then-16-year-old islander named Jadav Payeng decided to begin planting trees in 1979.
He spent the last 35 years planting one tree at a time, all by himself.
Now, 3.5 decades later, Payeng's efforts have amounted to an enormous, lush forest inhabited by endangered wildlife.
The growing forest is said to be 550 hectares, which is already larger than Central Park (341 hectares).
Though Payeng admits that planting trees has gotten easier over the years because his forest has provided him with more seeds to plant, there are other obstacles he faces to maintain it.
Payeng says that the greatest difficulty is dealing with other humans who are all too quick to reap the land he sowed and eliminate the habitat he's created for animals.
Even so, the dedicated conservationist carries on, sowing his seeds and looking over his forest. He says, "I will continue to plant until my last breath."
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