Canadian tries to set world record for most trees planted in 24 hours — again

Kenny Chaplin wants to reclaim his Guinness World Record for most trees planted by an individual in 24 hours.

He first won the title in 2001 by planting 15,170 trees near Prince Albert, Sask. and held onto it for the next 20 years before a new record was set by a competitor.

He wants that title back.

To get it, he intends to turn a flat field near Buena Vista, Sask., about 40 kilometres northwest of Regina, into a future forest between 8 a.m. CST on June 29 and 8 a.m. on June 30.

"It's just really cool to walk through your own forest," Chaplin told CBC Saskatchewan.

"I'm really looking forward to doing this one. This will be quite exciting if I can do 24,000 trees in 24 hours. That's the goal."

The trees he planted for his first record-breaking effort have grown tall over the last quarter-century, and it makes him proud to know the new jack pine seedlings he tucks into the ground this year will similarly flourish, eventually becoming a mature forest for future generations to enjoy, he said.

"It'll become a communal forest and the town or the village of Buena Vista will be the recipient of it."

He hopes the trees he plants will eventually border a path local residents can use for walking their dogs and spending time with their children, he said.

"In five years' time, the landowner will come through maybe with a cutter and cut paths, walking paths and hiking paths and little areas to sit and make it a really nice forest."

The Guinness World Records website says the current record is held by Antoine Moses, another Canadian who planted 23,060 trees in La Crete, Alberta, on July 17, 2021.

Moses "used the whole day, and artificial light through the night," Chaplin said. "He had a team that helped. So it kind of changed the original of the record."

He likes that tree planting has become more competitive over the years, he said.

This time, he'll have his twin brother to help him, and some volunteers to witness the whole thing.

"I hire independent professionals to be witnesses, like a forester and arborist, a botanist, and they stand by and they make witness statements for Guinness," he said.

"I also have a team of three different cameras set up because I need a static camera set up for 24 hours so that Guinness can see that every tree is being planted the way it should be planted."

Chaplin's record attempt is a "massive effort," David Tonken, president of Let’s Plant Trees Ltd., wrote in a message to CBC.

"We are trying to bring attention to the importance of planting trees and the physical and mental discipline gained by tree planters every year as they rehabilitate our forests."