Much attention has focused on what a strong El Niño could mean for food security, disasters, and the economy. Biodiversity loss deserves the same urgency because healthy ecosystems support our global food systems, buffer communities from extreme weather, and sustain livelihoods for billions of people worldwide. Biodiversity is already declining because of land-use change, resource exploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. A strong El Niño could accelerate this decline by driving habitat loss and degradation, altering wildlife movement and behavior, and disrupting conservation efforts.

When Habitats Are Lost and Degraded

Habitat loss occurs when species lose the places they need to feed, breed, shelter, and find water, causing populations to shrink and making local extinctions more likely. Human land-use change remains the main driver of this process, especially through deforestation and agricultural conversion, but a strong El Niño can accelerate habitat loss by increasing the risk of extreme conditions like drought, storms, and flooding. 

In Indonesia, the 2015–2016 El Niño created unusually dry conditions that allowed fires to spread across drained and degraded peatlands in Sumatra and Kalimantan. These fires burned an estimated 2.6 million hectares of land, destroying forests, damaging peat-swamp habitats, and threatening wildlife that depends on these ecosystems, including endangered Bornean orangutans.

Even when habitats are not completely destroyed, extreme disturbances can degrade their quality and weaken their ability to provide food, shelter, and breeding conditions. For example, during marine heatwaves coral reefs expel the symbiotic algae that provide much of their energy, leading to bleaching, disease, and death.  As live coral declines, reefs lose the structure that fish, invertebrates, and other marine species rely on for shelter, feeding, and reproduction. 

In 2024, the Great Barrier Reef experienced its fifth mass bleaching event since 2016 and its most widespread on record, following what (at the time) was the fifth strongest El Niño ever recorded. 2025 surveys showing hard coral cover declines on nearly half of the 124 reefs assessed and losses reaching 70.8% on some reefs.

When Wildlife Shifts Their Behavior and Movement

A strong El Niño can also accelerate biodiversity loss by changing how wildlife behave under stress. When drought reduces food and water, animals may alter their daily behavior by feeding closer to people, entering farms more often, and taking greater risks to survive. 

In Zambia’s Luangwa River Basin and surrounding Eastern Region, the 2023–2024 El Niño-linked drought reduced food and water for people, livestock, and wildlife, which in turn increased confrontations between humans and wildlife. As food and water became scarcer, elephants and other wildlife moved closer to farms, settlements, and shared water points.  Resource Africa reported that elephants and hippos destroyed more than 200 hectares of crops in the Eastern Region. 

Along the U.S. West Coast, marine heatwaves and El Niño-linked warm years can compress cool, nutrient-rich upwelling ocean habitats, pushing humpback whales and their prey closer to nearshore fishing areas. This movement increases overlap with fixed fishing gear, including Dungeness crab pots and vertical lines. A recent study found that reported humpback whale entanglements were highest in years with limited suitable habitat and feeding grounds,  including spikes during the 2015–2016 marine heatwave and El Niño period and 31 confirmed humpback entanglements in 2024.

When Conservation Efforts Are Disrupted

A strong El Niño can intensify extreme storms and flooding, disrupting the infrastructures that conservation work depends on. Protected areas rely on well-maintained infrastructure and operational equipment, such as roads, fences, vehicles, communication systems, and monitoring tools. These resources help staff patrol boundaries, monitor conditions, care for wildlife, and respond quickly to threats.

In Kenya, the 2023–2024 El Niño likely contributed to the severe flooding in March–May 2024.. The floods affected more than 380,000 people, damaged more than 60 roads, destroyed bridges, and caused about $35 million in losses. These disruptions also reached conservation sites, including Ol Pejeta Conservancy, where the flooding badly damaged perimeter and chimpanzee sanctuary fences, closed the chimpanzee facility for months, and increased wildlife-security and chimp-welfare costs.

Climate extremes around strong El Niño periods can also weaken conservation by stretching the institutions responsible for enforcement and land protection. When agencies are forced to prioritize emergency response, fewer resources may be available to prevent, monitor, and stop illegal burning, land clearing, and wildlife crime. 

Peru’s record 2024 wildfires show how quickly this strain can escalate when drought, human-started fires, and limited response capacity converge. The Global Wildfire Information System recorded about 10,400 fires in Peru in 2024, more than double the previous record. As fires spread across grasslands, dry forests, coastal areas, and the Amazon, limited capacity made it harder to contain the crisis and protect vulnerable ecosystems.

Toward More El Niño-Resilient Ecosystems

Building El Niño-resilient ecosystems starts with regenerative approaches that strengthen biodiversity, restore ecological function, and support the communities that depend on healthy landscapes. Regenerative agriculture can improve soil health by increasing organic matter, helping farms retain more water during drought, reducing erosion during floods, and supporting the soil biodiversity that sustains nutrient cycling, crop productivity, and climate resilience. Agroforestry builds on this resilience by bringing trees back into working landscapes, creating shade, habitat, and food sources for wildlife while helping farmers diversify their livelihoods through fruit, timber, fuelwood, fodder, and other tree-based products.

El Niño resilience also depends on stronger institutions and sustained investment for the people working closest to biodiversity loss. Frontline communities, Indigenous peoples, local leaders, conservation organizations, and protected-area agencies need resources before extreme conditions escalate into disasters. Funding should support early-warning systems, biodiversity monitoring, emergency planning, and rapid response, while long-term partnerships can help protect vulnerable species and ecosystems before losses become harder to reverse.

Reducing the pressures that make biodiversity vulnerable is just as important as preparing for El Niño itself. Ecosystems are better able to survive droughts, floods, fires, and marine heatwaves when species have enough food, clean water, breeding sites, shelter, and space to move before extreme conditions arrive. 

Cutting emissions can reduce the heat stress that forces plants and animals beyond their limits and makes recovery harder after an El Niño event. Protecting and reconnecting habitats can help wildlife move away from burned forests, dried wetlands, flooded nesting areas, or warming ocean zones. Managing invasive species can also reduce competition and predation, giving native plants and animals a better chance to recover when extreme events disrupt food webs.

Biodiversity is the foundation of global food, health, and economic systems, making its loss a direct threat to human security and well-being. A Super El Niño would intensify that threat by pushing already weakened ecosystems closer to their limits. The way forward is clear: scale regenerative systems that sustain biodiversity and livelihoods, support frontline communities and the institutions they depend on, and reduce the pressures pushing species and ecosystems toward collapse.

A Super El Niño should inspire a global response rooted in science, equity, and local action. Support EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Tree Project to restore habitats, expand tree cover, and strengthen communities, and join The Great Global Cleanup to remove waste and plastic pollution from the ecosystems we all depend on.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

The post How a Super El Niño Could Accelerate Biodiversity Loss appeared first on Earth Day.

The restoration forms part of EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Project and Envision Energy India’s corporate social responsibility initiative. Envision Racing will contribute through its Sustainable Chain program, which encourages Formula E fans to make personal commitments to reduce their emissions and provides participants with updates about supported restoration projects.

Restoring the Indian Sundarbans

The Indian Sundarbans includes 102 islands, of which 54 are inhabited and 48 are forested. Approximately 4.5 million people live across the region, where rising seas and frequent cyclones place coastal communities under growing pressure. More than 3,500 kilometers of ring embankments protect inhabited islands from tidal flooding, revealing the scale of the region’s exposure to coastal hazards.

The five-year program will restore degraded parts of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest through nursery development, site preparation, and seasonal planting. Nursery work and pre-planting land preparation have already begun, with planting scheduled from March through November. Mangrove species will be selected according to the elevation and soil type of each site, linking planting decisions directly to local conditions.

These preparations mark the first stages of a restoration effort that will continue across several planting seasons. The combination of nursery development and site assessment will provide the planting material and prepared ground needed to carry the initiative forward over five years.

Community at the Center

Community participation is built into the restoration plan and the programs accompanying it. Trained project monitors and local scientists will support implementation with guidance from forestry officials. Village councils will participate alongside local residents and students, bringing community institutions into the restoration effort.

Community education will explain how mangroves affect fisheries and agriculture, connecting restoration with local sources of food and income. These activities are intended to improve tree survival and support the long-term success of restored areas.

The partnership’s community programs will address health, nutrition, and sanitation across participating communities. Education programs will provide another form of support during the five-year initiative. These commitments respond to conditions affecting parts of the Sundarbans, where some communities have limited access to freshwater, schools, and employment.

The partners also identify mangrove planting as a source of income for local workers. This opportunity may be especially important for widows experiencing severe economic and social vulnerability, a group highlighted in the partnership announcement.

Growing a Global Canopy

The Sundarbans initiative joins a wider network of community-centered restoration efforts supported through EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Tree Project. Across Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, Morocco’s M’Goun Valley, and Cape Town in South Africa, these projects restore degraded landscapes in ways that respond to local environmental conditions and community needs. The network also includes work in Mexico’s Sierra Gorda, Uganda’s Mount Elgon, between Madagascar’s Kianjavato and Vatovavy regions, and Bangladesh’s Khulna district.

Each initiative uses locally appropriate trees to address challenges such as deforestation, erosion, and climate vulnerability. Fruit-bearing trees can support food security and household income, and mangroves can strengthen coastal protection and fisheries. The Sundarbans initiative extends this approach to West Bengal by combining mangrove restoration with community participation, environmental education, and social support.

Engage with us and learn more about the Sundarbans initiative and explore EARTHDAY.ORG’s restoration work around the world through Canopy Tree Project.

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Every July 26, people around the world observe the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, commonly known as World Mangrove Day. UNESCO established the observance in 2015 to raise awareness of the importance of mangroves and promote their sustainable conservation and management.

This year’s celebration arrives with encouraging evidence that decades of decline in global mangrove extent may be beginning to reverse. A global study published in Science found that mangrove extent shifted from net loss to net gain around 2010. By 2023, the total area of mangroves worldwide stood approximately 0.5% below its level in the 1980s, indicating that recent expansion and regeneration had offset much of the earlier decline.

This global turnaround offers a meaningful source of hope, although it does not represent the complete recovery of mangrove ecosystems. Gains remain uneven across regions, and newly established forests cannot immediately replace the biodiversity, carbon storage, and coastal protection provided by mature mangroves lost elsewhere.

An Ecosystem That Sustains People and the Planet

The reported recovery matters because mangrove forests support an extraordinary range of ecological and social functions. Mangrove forests grow along tropical and subtropical coastlines where land and sea meet. Their tangled root systems provide nursery habitat for fish, stabilize shorelines, trap sediments, and create shelter for diverse wildlife.

These ecological functions generate immense benefits for coastal communities worldwide. Mangrove ecosystem services were valued at approximately US$894 billion globally in 2019, and an estimated 4.1 million small-scale fishers participate in mangrove-associated fisheries that sustain household incomes and food supplies. Mangroves also reduce the effects of coastal flooding, averting more than US$65 billion in property damage and protecting over 15 million people each year.

Mangroves also rank among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. They store carbon throughout their trunks, branches, and roots, with the largest share accumulating belowground in waterlogged soils and sediments. Through long-term carbon storage and coastal protection, mangroves contribute to climate mitigation and help communities adapt to rising seas, stronger storms, and other escalating climate risks.

A Global Rebound Driven by Natural Recovery

Scientists from Tulane University led the research and used four decades of satellite observations to reconstruct annual changes in mangrove extent and canopy cover from 1984 to 2023. Their analysis shows that global mangrove losses declined substantially as expansion and regeneration accelerated, eventually producing a small net increase in total area around 2010.

The study attributes most of the recent gains to natural seaward expansion. Mangroves colonized newly formed tidal flats as accumulated sediments created suitable elevations and growing conditions. Regeneration in areas that had previously supported mangroves accounted for the remaining gains, demonstrating that damaged landscapes can recover when environmental conditions remain favorable and human pressures are reduced.

Changes in total area reveal only one part of the condition of the world’s mangroves. The paper also examined canopy changes within forests that remained standing and found that thinning and other forms of degradation affected a larger area than outright forest loss. Tropical cyclones were strongly associated with these disturbances, although degradation rates declined across the study period and long-standing mangrove forests continued to gain canopy cover through natural growth.

Together, these findings show that the recent turnaround resulted largely from natural ecological and coastal processes. Conservation, restoration, and monitoring can help sustain that progress by protecting recovering areas, reducing avoidable disturbances, and preserving the environmental conditions that allow mangroves to expand and regenerate.

The March for Mangroves Continues

The same study also demonstrates that heavily disturbed mangrove ecosystems can recover from extensive loss and degradation. Their continued recovery remains vulnerable to sea-level rise, stronger tropical cyclones, disrupted sediment flows, coastal development, and land conversion. Community-led conservation, carefully designed restoration, and long-term monitoring will therefore remain essential for identifying emerging threats and sustaining recovery across different regions.

The study also highlights the urgent opportunity for protecting and sustainably managing the newly expanded young mangrove forests. These newly established stands need time to develop the complex structures, deep carbon stores, and ecological communities associated with mature forests. Further research into the physical and ecological mechanisms that drive expansion and regeneration can improve conservation planning, guide restoration toward suitable locations, and help young forests develop into resilient ecosystems.

Celebrate World Mangrove Day by learning more about EARTHDAY.ORG’s mangrove restoration work through the Canopy Tree Project. In partnership with Envision Racing and Envision Energy India, the project aims to plant more than 500,000 mangroves in the Indian Sundarbans over the next five years. By supporting sustained conservation and community-led restoration, we can help mangrove forests continue their recovery and thrive for generations to come.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

The post After Decades of Decline, Mangroves Are Finally Growing Back appeared first on Earth Day.

Across the globe, climate change is adding fuel to a dangerous type of fire: wildfires. So far in 2026, wildfires consumed 85 million hectares of land in Africa and 44 million hectares in Asia between January and April to set new records of land burned for this time period. The 150 million hectares of land burned globally during the first four months of 2026 is more than twice the size of Texas. As temperatures only continue to rise with the arrival of summer, the European Union just assembled a team of 777 firefighters from 14 different European nations along with 27 fire-fighting aircrafts, its biggest wildfire response team ever, to prepare its members for a summer of flames.

As climate change continues to warm and dry the planet, wildfires will become more common. They will also become more catastrophic by burning more land and degrading our air quality and therefore harming our health. And climate change is not the only thing sparking wildfires. Human-driven deforestation is causing wildfires as it dries out vegetation by reducing shade in forests; leaves behind small, flammable wood pieces; and eliminates large numbers of trees which are carbon dioxide absorbers, ultimately raising global temperatures.

The need for effective solutions is only growing more urgent. Thankfully, a look at different approaches to preventing and extinguishing wildfires embraced by different countries around the world shows that many solutions are developing.

High-Tech Means Highly Effective

One of the ways countries are responding to wildfires is through technological innovations. 

Japan

In Japan, researchers and governmental agencies joined forces with a Japanese soap company, Shabondama Soap Co., in 2001 to develop, test, and perfect an environmentally-friendly soap-based fire extinguisher, the first of its kind.

Traditional fire extinguishers require petroleum-based surfactants which greatly damage water- and soil-dwelling organisms. This product, however, has naturally sourced surfactants, making it highly biodegradable. And, it requires much less water than when water alone is used to extinguish fires. Soap doesn’t only eliminate germs, it can help eliminate wildfires, too!

United States

In the United States, researchers at Stanford University are testing a new formula for a fire-repellent sprayable gel that could be applied on homes and infrastructure to stop them from being set ablaze during wildfires. While similar products are currently available commercially, this gel offers longer-lasting protection due to additional layers that increase its ability to withstand fire. That’s hot!

Australia

Like other countries, Australian researchers, supported by the Australian government, are engineering firefighting drones. Australian bushfires are frequently ignited by lightning strikes, and early recognition and response is critical to managing them; however, remote bushfires commonly burn unidentified for multiple days. 

Drones could solve this problem by identifying lightning fires and limiting their spread. They can reimagine our response to wildfires as they have useful qualities that human firefighters lack: the ability to work over night, without rest, and on the same task again and again. These drones can expel wildfires at lightning speed — literally!

More Than One Right Way

Wildfires are also fought by following indigenous and traditional practices. 

Brazil

Since 2014, the Brazilian environmental protection agency (IBAMA) has collaborated with the Xerente Indigenous community in northern Brazil to perform traditional, controlled burns to decrease the likelihood of large forest fires in the Cerrado region. It might seem counterproductive to prevent fire with fire, but these fires kill large amounts of flammable grass and result in burn areas that protect villages from potential wildfires. IBAMA works alongside indigenous experts to ignite patches of fire and standby in case the fire grows too large. Teamwork makes the dreamwork!

Spain

In Catalonia, Spain, there has been an increase in the use of goats to mitigate wildfires. Mataro, the largest city in Catalonia, is participating in widespread European Union efforts to reduce wildfire breakouts. Using livestock to manage wildfires is not only effective but also environmentally-friendly as it replaces farm machinery.

Farmers have used goats and other livestock to carve out firebreaks for many centuries. By hungrily munching on the grass and brush at the edge of forests, the herd of 300 goats leave areas without vegetation that limit the spread of wildfires. It doesn’t get BAAAA-tter than that!

It Takes a Village

Fighting wildfires requires community involvement, too.

Mauritania

In West Africa, Mali refugees inhabiting the M’bera refugee camp formed a volunteer firefighting team called the Anti-Fire Brigade. Established in 2013, the team extinguishes deadly bushfires in Mauritania that have the potential to eliminate its scarce grazing areas. Having fled violence in Mali to this neighboring country, the volunteers view their firefighting as a way to give back to the Mauritanians for accepting them into their country. 

The group works tirelessly to fight fires without what many might consider essential to firefighting: water. African bushfires often occur far from water sources, leaving the volunteers to extinguish the fires by hitting the flames with highly heat resistant acacia tree branches. Water isn’t the only way to cool down flames!

Indonesia

In Indonesia, a grassroot organization, Alam Siak Lestari (ASL), enacted the “Healthy Ecosystem Alternative Livelihood (HEAL) Fisheries” program to decrease peatland fires. Peatlands, a type of wetland that covers much of Southeast Asia, are critical to the economic livelihood of many. But, they can be set ablaze and cause great social, economic, health, and environmental damage. 

HEAL helps communities in the Indonesia peatlands farm snakehead murrel fish that will be used to manufacture a health supplement made from their albumin, a protein known for its cell regeneration capabilities. The fish cultivation supports community members economically with income and business opportunities. At the same time, it helps the environment by keeping the peatlands moist and reducing slash-and-burn farming, both decreasing the risk of wildfires. Who knew fish could help fight fires!

Canada

After a record-breaking Canadian wildfire season in 2023, wildfire experts called for a change to how wildfires are fought in Canada. Traditionally, wildfires are fought reactively, with firefighters jumping into action to put out the flames once a fire breaks out; however, as wildfires grow more numerous and aggressive, even an endless amount of firefighters does not appear to be enough to extinguish all of them. So, experts pushed for preventative  forest closures when the risk of wildfires is high before wildfires begin. 

Government-ordered forest closures force all surrounding community members to be involved in wildfire mitigation. But, doing so can eliminate the risk of visitors sparking a fire from a campfire or trail vehicle. Importantly, when enacting such measures, authorities must ensure that the mobility rights of individuals are heavily considered and that the woods ban is specific. Of course, removing humans from the equation does not entirely eliminate the risk of wildfires, but it does decrease it!

You!

Finally, you can help fight wildfires no matter where you are in the world by helping to reverse deforestation when you support reforestation efforts. EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Tree Project is enacting positive change in communities and for the environment by planting trees all over the globe.

We all can be firefighters and fight wildfires. We just have to choose how we want to put out the flames.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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There is a particular kind of silence that descends on a forest at dawn when something historic is about to be completed. I felt it on the morning of April 23, 2026, standing among the mist-draped slopes of Kessup Forest in Elgeyo Marakwet County, watching Hillary Kiplagat Kibiwott plant his final seedlings with the same focused rhythm he had maintained for the past twenty-three hours. By the time the clock struck 11:00 a.m. and the challenge was officially closed, he had planted 23,326 indigenous trees  surpassing a Guinness World Record that had stood since 2021, and writing Kenya into the history of global climate action in the most visceral way imaginable.

I was present as EARTHDAY.ORG’s representative on the ground. And I can say without hesitation: what I witnessed at Kessup was not simply a record attempt. It was, in the truest sense, a living manifestation of Earth Day 2026’s global theme  “Our Power, Our Planet“.

The Setting: Where the Story Began

Kessup Forest is not a symbolic backdrop. It sits within the broader Kaptagat ecosystem in Kenya’s North Rift, a critical water catchment area that sustains agricultural communities and supports biodiversity across the region. Choosing this forest was itself an act of intention. Hillary Kibiwott, a 29-year-old co-founder of the Green Earth Ambassadors Foundation from Elgeyo Marakwet County, submitted his Guinness World Records application on January 1, 2026 the very first day of the year. That act of deliberate timing tells you something essential about how seriously he took this commitment.

The challenge was straightforward in its parameters and extraordinary in its demands: plant more than 23,060 trees  the record set by Canadian Antoine Moses in Alberta in July 2021  within a single 24-hour window, across 30.15 hectares of cleared plantation land. To do so, Hillary would need to average a tree in the ground every 3.6 seconds. Every hour. Through the night. Through fatigue, changing weather, and the compounding weight of physical exhaustion.

He began at exactly 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 2026  Earth Day  dressed in a tracksuit, shovel in hand, thousands of seedlings prepared in advance across the 50-acre site. Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesley Rotich flagged off the challenge before a crowd of residents, conservation officials, government representatives, and supporters who had come from across the county. The atmosphere was electric  and deeply communal.

The Night That Belonged to Everyone

What struck me most as the hours passed was how quickly this became a community event rather than a solo performance. Residents flocked to the forest station. Officials remained on site throughout the night. Representatives from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Forest Conservation Committees, and the Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme (KICP) maintained continuous monitoring, documenting and verifying every tree at regular intervals to ensure the attempt would meet Guinness World Records’ stringent verification standards.

By the midway mark, progress reports showed Hillary had crossed 9,000 trees. The numbers were tracked. The momentum was real. And the people who had gathered to witness it were not passive observers  they were participants in something larger than themselves. That is exactly what Our Power, Our Planet is designed to produce.

That sentence  understated, quietly powerful  captures something that no statistics can fully convey. Climate action at its most effective is never solitary. It is held up by communities.

The Moment the Record Fell

At 11:00 a.m. on April 23, the challenge closed. The final count stood at 23,326 trees  266 more than Antoine Moses’ previous global benchmark. The achievement is pending formal ratification by Guinness World Records, which requires documented evidence including witnesses, measurements, photographs, video, and compliance with standardised rules. But even before that certification arrives, the significance of what happened was unmistakable.

The response from leadership was swift and unambiguous. Principal Secretary for Forestry Gitonga Mugambi, who witnessed the final stretch of the challenge, did not frame the record as a sporting feat. He understood it as a policy statement.

That urgency is well-founded. Kenya’s forests are losing ground. The country currently falls short of the internationally recommended 10% minimum forest cover. President William Ruto’s administration has pledged to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, requiring roughly 1.7 billion trees annually. Official figures from April 2025 showed 783 million trees planted under the National Tree Growing and Restoration Campaign  a meaningful start, but a stark reminder of the distance remaining.

Hillary’s challenge lands squarely within that national story. And its timing on Earth Day was no coincidence.

Our Power, Our Planet: A Theme Made Visible

EARTHDAY.ORG’s 2026 manifesto describes the theme ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ as a fundamental truth that transcends political cycles. Environmental stewardship, the manifesto insists, has never depended on a single administration, institution, or election. It is sustained by the daily decisions of communities, educators, workers, innovators, and families.

Standing at Kessup Forest on that April morning, I did not need to explain that principle. I could point to it. Here was a 29-year-old from Elgeyo Marakwet  not a government programme, not a donor-funded initiative  making the most tangible possible argument for citizen-led climate action. Here was a crowd of ordinary Kenyans keeping vigil through the night, cheering a young man forward in the dark, not because they were asked to but because they understood what was at stake. Here were forestry officers, county officials, conservation bodies, all converging not around a boardroom table but around a cleared hectare of earth and a man with a shovel.

This is what EARTHDAY.ORG means when it says environmental progress is already operational, not aspirational. It is not waiting for a policy shift in Nairobi or a resolution from a distant summit. It is happening  on these slopes, with these hands, in this soil.

What a Guinness Record Says About Collective Action

Some have asked whether a world record attempt is the right frame for climate action  whether the spectacle of it risks reducing a serious cause to a stunt. I want to address that directly, because I think the opposite is true.

A Guinness World Record is one of the few globally understood symbols of extreme human effort. When one is attempted  especially by a young African environmentalist, in an indigenous forest, on Earth Day  it sends a signal that cannot be replicated by a press release or a pledge document. It says: this community is showing up. This cause is worth the full commitment of a human body for 24 uninterrupted hours. This planet is worth making history for.

Dr Chris Kiptoo, Patron of the Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme, understood this when he said of Hillary’s name: Kibiwott, in the Kalenjin language, means one born in the rainy season. In many Kenyan communities, that season symbolises decisive action  the planting season. It was perhaps no coincidence, then, that as Hillary completed his final trees, rain poured heavily over Kessup Forest. Nature, it seemed, was paying its own tribute.

Senator William Kisang of Elgeyo Marakwet took the matter to the Senate floor on May 5, 2026, calling for formal national recognition of Hillary’s achievement. Cabinet Secretary for Environment Deborah Barasa described the feat as the kind of personal commitment needed to inspire a wider national movement. Shortly after, the government appointed Hillary as Ambassador for Kenya’s 15 Billion Trees Campaign  elevating a grassroots conservation act into official national mission.

Kenya’s Moment, and EARTHDAY.ORG’s Mission

EARTHDAY.ORG coordinates Earth Day across nearly 200 countries, and one of the most important truths our work has taught us is this: global movements are built from local acts of courage. The Canopy Tree Project, which has planted tens of millions of trees since 2010 across Bangladesh, India, Madagascar, Mexico, South Africa, and Uganda, works precisely because it is rooted in communities  the same communities that face the sharpest edge of climate change and deforestation.

What happened at Kessup on Earth Day 2026 is part of that same continuum. Kenya is not waiting to be included in the global climate conversation. It is leading it  through youth, through forests, through the extraordinary and ordinary act of planting trees.

PS Mugambi, in his remarks following the challenge, made a call that I believe captures the spirit of this moment perfectly: he did not simply praise Hillary. He turned the achievement outward, rallying institutions, communities, and individuals across Kenya to take up the mantle. Because the real story of Kessup is not about one man planting 23,326 trees. It is about what those trees make possible  the conversations they start, the ambitions they legitimise, the young people across 47 counties who will see a 29-year-old from their region in the Guinness World Records and think: I can do something too.

My View Reflection from the Ground

I have represented EARTHDAY.ORG at many events. I have spoken in rooms about climate urgency, about the importance of action, about what is at stake if we fail to protect our forests, our water, our air. These conversations matter. But there are rare moments when the argument is made not in words but in the body  in effort, in endurance, in the simple act of bending down, again and again, for 24 hours, to put a living thing into the earth. Hillary Kibiwott gave us one of those moments. And Kessup Forest, those 23,326 trees now growing in its soil, will carry the proof of it for generations.

This is what Our Power, Our Planet looks like when it leaves the EARTHDAY.ORG manifesto and walks into the world.

The post How One Young Kenyan’s 23,326 Trees Showed the World What Climate Action Looks Like appeared first on Earth Day.

Mammals are captivating, warm, and cuddly, however, a global analysis of around 14,600 conservation projects found that almost half of all species-focused funding went to just 47 species, primarily large ones such as elephants, bears, and wolves, while plants received only about 6.6% of total resources. 

Yet, trees are fundamental to the Earth’s health, they, among other things, stabilize soil with their roots, provide home and nutrition for countless species, and make our landscapes beautiful. When a tree disappears, it’s not just a single loss, it’s a shift in habitat. 

Some of the world’s truly remarkable trees are now mere remnants, quietly declining without the spotlight granted to charismatic animals. It’s long overdue that we give these neglected giants the recognition and protection they deserve.

The Firefighter

Florida Torreya is an evergreen tree of the yew family that lives in just a tiny 35 kilometer-long stretch of ravines along the Apalachicola River in the area of northern Florida and southern Georgia. In the 20th century, its population crashed by roughly 98.5% due to a fungus-caused canker disease, with most of its original habitat remaining intact. What used to be a stretch of over 0.3 million trees is now estimated to be less than 2,000 entities.

At its prime, Florida Torreya can grow up to 20 meters (65.6 feet) in height, however, ever since 1962, no trees of such size have been spotted. Nowadays, most members of the species are less than 2 meters (6.6) tall, with only a couple stems to display.

Florida Torreya’s main benefit for the environment was its low flammability. With this species going extinct and other more flammable trees populating its former habitat, the Apalachicola River area’s vulnerability to wildfire has increased. This puts the flora of the region, which includes 48 rare species, in danger, demonstrating how decline in one species can threaten entire systems.

The Dinosaur’s Friend

Wollemi Pine is one of the rarest tree species on Earth, with just 91 surviving individuals as of 2021, only 45 of which are mature. Today, Wollemi Pines live in only four small rainforest canyon sites in Australia, all of which are located in the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Park.

Appearance-wise, a Wollemi Pine can grow to about 40 meters (131 feet) tall, its bark looking similar to bubbling chocolate, earning the species the “Coco Pops Tree” moniker.

When the species’ dwindling remnants were discovered in 1994, scientists pointed out that the tree belonged to a very ancient lineage that existed when dinosaurs were still alive. The tree was named the “botanical find of the century,” shaking the conservation efforts around the globe awake.

Due to the population being so small and isolated, the threats caused by diseases, fire, unauthorized human disturbance, and climate change are especially dangerous to the species. As a result, the exact location of the remaining trees has never been made available to the public.

A Chef and a Medic

The Science Maple

Acer Yangbiense is a maple tree endemic to Yangbi County in Yunnan, China. It grows in the Cangshan Mountain region at about 2,200-2,500 meter elevation and can reach up to 20 meters (65.6 feet) in height.

For years, the species was thought to survive as only five wild trees, but 2016 surveys found a total of 577 individuals in 12 different areas, with another 2019 search uncovering additional 166 trees. The main problem with restoring this species comes from its poor reproduction capacities, with most trees growing only male flowers and only 5.37% having both female and male blossoms. In addition, habitat degradation caused by human activity and climate change also plays a major role in this species endangerment.

What makes Acer Yangbiense especially notable is its contribution to science. In 2019, researchers mapped the tree’s entire DNA, creating the first full genome for this species and the first genome ever published for a maple tree. Having this information helps researchers study how the species evolved, how it adapts to its environment, and how it and similar trees can be better protected, making the species valuable outside its small population.

The Icon of Resilience

Sicilian Fir is the most endangered conifer in all Europe with only 30 mature trees surviving in nature. It lives in Madonie Regional Park, Sicily, growing up to around 14.4 meters (47.2 feet) in height and closely resembles a pine tree from a distance.

The species’s main struggles are loss of genetic diversity, scatteredness in population, weak regeneration, and a high rate of sterile seed production. All of these contribute to its slow extinction, which was initially launched by deforestation for construction projects due to the wood’s high flexibility and sturdiness.

Despite the hardships and the extremely small population size, mature Sicilian Firs are exceptionally genetically diverse, even when compared to other Mediterranean trees of much greater populations. Aside from the resilience of the tree’s genetic variation being especially admirable, this diversity also increases the tree’s chances to survive various threats like climate change induced calamities, stoking the hope that it might yet prevail.

Planting the Seeds of Change

These five trees come from different continents and habitats, but their stories point to the same truth: forests are fragile, and the loss of even a single species can leave permanent marks on landscapes, traditions, or minds.

Supporting forest restoration can make a meaningful difference. A donation to Canopy Tree Project can go a long way in supporting reforestation efforts that give trees and the ecosystems built around them a chance to thrive and stay out of endangerment lists.

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On Earth Day 2026, in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya, environmentalist Hillary Kibiwott Kibiwott set out to accomplish something extraordinary: playing 24,000 trees in 24 hours and breaking the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted by an individual in a single day.

By the end of the challenge, Kibiwott had planted 23,326 trees, officially surpassing the previous record of 23,060 set in 2021 by Canadian tree planter Antoine MOses in La Crete, Alberta.

The achievement made Kibiwott the new Guinness World Record holder and marked a major Earth Day moment for Kenya and the global environmental movement.

But for Kibiwott, the event was always about more than a number.

“I want to make a record that I will be the first African to do this here in Kenya,” he said before the planting began. “What I want to be remembered for is that on this day, on 22nd of April, World Earth Day, I want to be remembered [because] I went down and planted over 24,000 trees in 24 hours.”

Kibiwott, co-founder of the Green Earth Ambassadors Foundation, had officially received approval from Guinness World Records earlier in the year after submitting his application on January 1, 2026. The tree-planting marathon began on April 22 at 11 a.m. and extended exactly 24 hours later.

Preparations for the event reflected the scale and seriousness of the challenge. Kenya Forest Service professionals worked in advance to ensure the land met the standard required for the record attempt. Planting areas were carefully measured and marked with pegs to maintain the proper spacing between seedlings.

“What you see here is a peg,” Kibiwott explained during the event. “This is being done by professionals from Kenya Forest Service, basically to make sure that the standard required for the size or distance from each tree to another one is there.”

The setup allowed the planting process to move quickly and efficiently once the challenge officially began.

Supporters gathered around Kibiwott throughout the event, recognizing the significance of the attempt not only for Kenya, but for environmental action more broadly.

“We are excited to be here today,” one supporter said, “being a historic day where we are supporting the contender for the Guiness World Record.”

Another supporter emphasized the lasting impact of the effort, telling Kibiwott, “Whatever you are going to do today is going to be for posterity. The whole world will remember.”

The challenge quickly became more than an individual record attempt. Families, villagers, volunteers, environmental groups, and even members of the military joined the effort and helped turn the day into a large-scale community movement.

According to EARTHDAY.ORG staff member Derrick Mugisha, who attended and documented the event, the atmosphere reflected the spirit of collective action that defines Earth Day around the world.

“We were there and filmed the entire thing,” Mugisha wrote afterward. “And paid for some of the trees.”

The event also aligned closely with this year’s broader Earth Day message about the power of collective action and environmental responsibility.

“Earth Day is not just a day,” one participant said during the event. “It’s a movement.”

That idea was echoed in a message shared by EARTHDAY.ORG campaigner Brianna, who reflected on the significance of the achievement in the context of global Earth Day organizing.

“Hope is not just something we feel,” she wrote. “It is something we build.”

“In Kenya, one person set out to plant 24,000 trees in 24 hours. Families, villagers, and even members of the military joined to support this remarkable effort. By day’s end, 23,326 trees had been planted, and a new world record was set.”

For Kibiwott, the challenge was also intended to inspire young people and demonstrate that environmental leadership can begin at the community level.

“Here in Kenya, I want to show people that it is possible in a small way, coming from a youth like me,” he said.

Throughout the event, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of personal responsibility in caring for the environment. 

“It started by you,” Kibiwott said. “It is a personal responsibility.”

Environmental experts have described the achievement as particularly significant given Kenya’s ongoing efforts to increase forest cover and address the impacts of deforestation and climate change. Tree planting initiatives have become an important part of both local and national environmental strategies across the country.

Kibiwott’s success also highlights the growing role of grassroots environmental activism in global climate efforts. While large-scale policy changes and international agreements remain critical, Earth Day events around the world continue to demonstrate how local action can mobilize communities and inspire wider participation.

This year, millions of people participated in more than 12,000 Earth Day events worldwide, organizing cleanup, educational programs, conversation projects, and environmental campaigns in communities across the globe. 

“These moments may look different,” Briana wrote, “but they carry the same truth. Action matters. When people set forward, change becomes possible.”

Kibiwott’s record-setting effort captured that idea in a visible and measurable way. Every tree planted represented not only an environmental contribution, but also a symbol of participation, commitment, and collective effort.

Although the original target of 24,000 trees was not fully reached, the final total of 23,326 was enough to break the previous Guinness World Record and establish a new benchmark for individual tree planting. 

As the final hours of the challenge came to a close, the achievement stood as both a personal milestone for Kibiwott and a broader reminder of what Earth Day represents: action made visible through collective effort.

Not only awareness, but participation.

Not only concern, but commitment.

And 23,326 trees later, a powerful example of what is possible when people choose to act together.

But Earth day does not end when the planting stops.

It continues in the choices communities make, the policies leaders support, and the actions individuals take every day to protect the planet we all share.

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Have you ever heard of forest bathing? Originating in Japan under the name “shinrin-yoku,” the practice involves immersing yourself in the atmosphere of the forest and honing in on the rustle of pine needles, the sunbeams leaking through the canopy, or the sweet scent of sap oozing from tree trunks. It encourages mindfulness and promotes relaxation. Shinrin-yoku may even improve your physical health. But you don’t need to go forest bathing to realize the benefits of green space.

If you live in a city, you might be lucky enough to have access to a park or to tree-lined streets. These oases of green canopy dotting the concrete jungle may be the only contact with nature you have on a daily basis. Thankfully, any access to green space has benefits. Data shows that even in small numbers, the presence of trees in urban centers boasts incredible benefits, from more successful business districts to energy savings and even better sleep. More importantly, access to trees may support longer, healthier lives.

In other words, if you’re looking for the fountain of youth or the elixir of life, finding the closest tree might be the best thing you can do. Let’s look at why trees matter so much to our wellbeing, who has access to green space, and what we can do to expand our urban tree cover.

Long Live the Trees (and Me!)

Studies show that tree cover in cities may boost longevity. In particular, a 2022 study found that increasing urban tree cover by 10% led to significant decreases in heat-related mortality, with Phoenix in particular benefiting from an estimated 22% reduction in heat-related mortality. Trees improve air quality, provide shade and aesthetic value, and even encourage increased physical activity. They also mitigate pollutant- and heat-induced stress, directly impacting the physical and mental well-being of humans living nearby.

There is also evidence that spending time around trees reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and can improve mood. Other studies have shown that simply viewing nature, such as trees from a hospital window, can speed up recovery time. And we know that trees release volatile essential oils known as phytoncides, which boost human immune systems by increasing natural killer cell activity. In other words, proximity to green space helps us live longer, healthier lives by reducing mortality rates. 

Our Grand Green Guards

Urban tree cover has a lot to offer, from stormwater management to removing street-level air pollution and boosting business in shopping districts. Proximity to canopies in cities may even increase worker productivity and decrease absenteeism.

Urban centers trap heat at a higher rate than surrounding rural landscapes. And since 80% of Americans live in urban areas, that means a lot of people are at risk during extreme heat. Thankfully, tree cover in cities offers a simple and highly effective solution. Urban trees are widely accepted as one of the most effective ways to alleviate heat islands, lowering ambient temperatures as much as 20-45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Compared with other terrestrial surfaces, areas with vegetation such as trees are more successful at capturing gases and aerosols from the atmosphere. For cities dealing with smog or other forms of heavy air pollution, trees and shrubs serve as effective pollutant-containing sinks. 

Take Detroit as an example. In honor of Earth Day 2025, the nonprofits Archangel Ancient Tree Archive and Arboretum Detroit collaborated to plant giant Sequoia saplings in empty plots on Detroit’s East Side. With 100 more saplings planted that April, volunteers expanded the humble 20 tree forest first planted in 2020 and 2021. The project aimed not only to improve local air quality but to preserve these native Californian trees from threatening wildfires on the West Coast. 

Freetown, Sierra Leone is also undergoing reforestation efforts. To tackle a declining canopy as the city sprawls into surrounding mountains and forests, the Freetown City Council launched #FreetowntheTreetown. The initiative encourages local citizens to track trees they plant and monitor young saplings through the TreeTracker app and receive micropayments for their work. After achieving their first goal of 1 million trees planted, Freetown has set their sights on planting 5 million trees by 2030. So far, the project has created 5,000 community jobs, 17 new watersheds, and restored 1,200 hectares of urban land.

Equal Access Now!

Unfortunately, access to tree canopy in U.S. cities is unequal. In 2021, majority-Black and Brown neighborhoods enjoyed 33% less tree cover than majority-white neighborhoods, meaning fewer trees in neighborhood plots, lining the sidewalks, or in nearby parks and green spaces. On top of racial disparities, neighborhoods with high poverty rates had 41% less tree cover than wealthier neighborhoods.

Disparities in access have to do with historic patterns of redlining, or the systematic denial of mortgages, loans, and other financial services on the basis of racial or ethnic grounds. These systems remain rooted in place today and influence neighborhood access to clean water and air, grocery stores options, and even green space!

Unequal access to urban green space means not everyone gets to enjoy the benefits of living near trees. One national survey found that, on average, poorer and non-white neighborhoods averaged 15.2% less tree cover and had on average 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter summer surface temperatures. The analysis of survey data showed that, because they had less tree cover, majority non-white neighborhoods had a higher risk for heat-related health problems and higher electrical power consumption. 

American Forests offers a tree equity tool to map coverage across cities and attests to these inequities. Considering disinvested communities undeniably face more day-to-day stress as a result of socioeconomic and/or racial status, one solution to improving well-being may be planting more trees in disenfranchised neighborhoods. One study estimated that adding an ambitious 1.2 billion trees across 100 sample cities nationwide would reduce summer surface temperatures by as much as 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.24 degrees Fahrenheit) and prevent around 450 heat-related deaths each year.

The Canopy Tree Project

Lucky for you, it’s easy to get involved in reforestation efforts, even in cities! EARTHDAY.ORG’s campaign Canopy Tree Project restores and reforests vulnerable climate areas around the world. The campaign’s goals include planting 60 million trees by 2030 and one billion by 2060. Donate to the campaign and help us plant trees where they’re needed most.

Craving more fascinating stories about trees? Browse through our Canopy Tree Project articles.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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Close your eyes. Imagine stepping into a forest that feels older than anything you’ve ever known. The air is cool enough to raise the hairs on your arms, crisp as you breathe it in. All around you rise tall trees, their trunks broad, disappearing into the layered canopies far above. At your feet, fallen trees rest in the green quiet, their weathered wood blending into the forest floor as new life grows around them.

This is an old-growth, or primary forest. Akin to the mysterious forests depicted in Brothers Grimm tales, old-growth forests feel untouched and otherworldly. In fact, one of the main characteristics is that it remains unmarked by human activity, allowing this complex ecosystem to flourish. Though these forests do not possess magical abilities like in fairy tales, their real magic lies in the rare habitats they create, which are sadly close to vanishing.

Climate change and unsustainable logging have destroyed U.S. forests. In the West, on average less than 5% of old-growth forests remain. In the East, just under 1%, on average, still stands. Old-growth forests take a very long time to develop, making this rapid destruction even more harmful.

So, What Exactly Is An Old-Growth Forest?

Forests develop in stages. These canopied ecosystems begin with shrubs and tree seedlings, then grow into developed trees, and after a hundred years or so, the trees reach past the harvesting age, advancing into an old-growth forest. Throughout each stage, if left untouched by humans or other disturbances like fire or insects, the forest develops as a rich ecosystem teeming with biodiversity.

No crevice of this land is left unused; the multilayered canopies are perfect for birds and other small critters. Undisturbed trees develop hollow cavities that become ideal nesting places for animals. Deadwood creates habitat for insects, fungi, reptiles, and amphibians, and the moist air benefits the lichen and mosses. It’s within this dense, layered architecture that the forest’s most dependent residents appear, ones whose whole success depends on the complex features of an old-growth forest.

“Hoo” Loves Old Trees? Owls! 

As wise as the ancient forest it calls home, the Northern Spotted owl is an indicator species, one whose presence signals the health of an ecosystem. One of three spotted owl subspecies, the Northern Spotted owl ranges across the Pacific Northwest, preferring to harbor in old-growth Douglas fir forests. 

Northern Spotted owls do not build their own nest, but seek out broken-top trees, tree cavities, which are the hollowed-out areas of a tree, and nests built by other wildlife. How sustainable of them! These birds flourish in the cluttered organization of an old-growth forest through the multilayered canopies that provide a happy environment for their prey. Younger forests are not capable of developing this level of complexity yet, making the existence of old-growth forests vital for this little owl’s livelihood. 

As old-growth forests are popular amongst loggers due to tree size and numbers, forest size has decreased greatly. After years of activism and negotiation amongst environmentalists, loggers, and the government, the Northern Spotted owl was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Under this, loggers are required to leave at least 40% of the forest intact within a 1.3-mile radius of any spotted owl nest or activity site. 

While the Northern Spotted owl helped old-growth forest enforcements in the Pacific Northwest, it isn’t the only species shaped by these forests. In the Southwest, an iconic, little fuzzy creature shows how dependent life can be on the structure and age of ponderosa pines.

Living High in the Ponderosa Penthouse 

The Kaibab squirrel has pointed ears, a black belly, and a bushy white tail. It is one of the rarest animal in the national park system. This adorable critterl is an endemic species, meaning it can only be found in one geographic region. You can spot it on the Kaibab Plateau in Kaibab National Forest and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Kaibab Plateau hosts most of the Southwest’s remaining old ponderosa pines, which the squirrel eats the seeds, pinecones, bark, and twigs of. The great height of these old trees is perfect for the squirrel, as they nest as high as 40 feet above the ground. 

The Grand Canyon’s North Rim has faced a multitude of environmental threats, such as drought and climate change, hunting, disease, logging, and most recently, the Dragon Bravo Fire, which burned up to 145,504 acres of land. In 1965, about 300,000 acres of Ponderosa Pine Forest were designated as the Kaibab Squirrel Habitat National Natural Landmark, protecting the forest for all those who depend on it. 

The Kaibab squirrel shows how species with small range areas and a specific habitat dependence can face major risks. Thousands of miles away from the Southwest, a similar dynamic appears with the Alexander Archipelago wolf, whose survival is linked to the old-growth rainforests of Southeast Alaska.

The Big Bad Wolf

This creature stalks the forest floor for its next meal. The Alexander Archipelago wolf resides in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, which happens to be the largest U.S. National Forest. This dark-haired wolf thrives in dense, undeveloped forests with lots of wildlife for food sources, something that old-growth forests provide. The cluttered forest floor also provides plenty of denning sites. 

The wolf’s favorite meal is the Sitka black-tailed deer, another old-growth dependent animal. Threats to the Tongass National Forest such as logging and road development, put prey animals like deer at risk, this in turn affects the Alexander Archipelago wolf. These wolves are beautiful, and hunters agree. In the fall of 2021, there were an estimated 230 wolves  around the Prince of Wales Island. But over the course of a month, 62 of those wolves were killed. Despite this, the wolf has been repeatedly denied any kind of status under the Endangered Species Act.

As old-growth forests shrink, this beautiful wolf’s future becomes inseparable from the future of its habitat. Protecting these forests is not just about just saving ancient trees, but also about preserving the unique animals that call them home

Keep the Ancient Giants Standing

Old-growth forests are  an awe-inspiring landscape that acts as a life-supporting system for these unique animal species. From owls in the Pacific Northwest to squirrels on the Kaibab Plateau and wolves in Southeast Alaska, the loss of ancient trees threatens entire ecosystems that cannot be recreated quickly once they are gone. 

The best way to preserve old-growth forests is to protect them. By 2030, EARTHDAY.org plans on planting 60 million trees globally to try and add to the forests of the future. If you would like to support this mission, please consider donating to the Canopy Tree Project today.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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For centuries, forests have stood as silent sentinels and humanity’s first pharmacy. Generations of herbalists — and today’s scientists — have turned to trees and plants to discover remedies that relieve pain, fight disease, and save lives.

In 2023, around 11 percent of the drugs that the World Health Organization considered “basic” and “essential” originated in flowering plants — and there were many more that originated from those that do not flower. Yet, as deforestation accelerates and biodiversity declines, we risk losing the wisdom hidden in these forests before we even discover them. Here are several tree-based medicines that demonstrate nature’s extraordinary pharmaceutical power.

Aspirin

Long before aspirin became a household name, the willow tree was used by Sumerians in pain management remedies as far as 4000 years ago. White willow bark contains salicin, which metabolizes in the body as salicylic acid. Salicylic acid in the body works by blocking cyclooxygenases, enzymes that produce inflammation, and preventing blood cells from sticking together, which reduces pain and fever.

In the early 19th century, scientists began isolating salicin from willow bark — with Johann Büchner isolating and naming salicin in 1828, Henri Leroux purifying it to treat rheumatism in 1829, and the Heyden Chemical Company launching large-scale production in Germany in the late 1800s. Aspirin as we know it today emerged when Bayer, a former German dye company, pivoted to pharmaceutical production.

Aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, is on the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines. The List includes medicines considered critical for addressing the most pressing global health needs based on their effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

The Fever Trees: Antimalarials

Malaria is a life-threatening disease that is mostly found in tropical countries and spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. Quinine was the first antimalarial drug. It is found in the bark of the cinchona tree, a tree native to the Andes region of South America. French chemists isolated quinine from the cinchona bark in 1820, establishing it as the treatment for intermittent fevers worldwide.

Quinine was strategically important to the Allied powers during World War II. The Japanese capture of the Dutch East Indies in 1942 cut the Allies off from the supply of quinine. This limited and halted Allied military operations in the Indo-Pacific region, as tens of thousands of soldiers were infected with malaria. This forced the military to turn to alternative antimalarials.

The 1960s created a need for the development of new antimalarial drugs, as drug-resistant malaria disabled U.S. military troops in Vietnam — at times, disabling more soldiers than combat. In 1969, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou was assigned to search for a cure in traditional medicine, eventually identifying and extracting artemisinin from sweet wormwood. This breakthrough earned Tu the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015.

Today, the World Health Organization recommends artemisinin-based combination therapies — a combination of a fast-acting artemisinin derivative with a longer-lasting partner drug — as the first-line treatment for the deadliest strain of malaria. Quinine is no longer a first-line antimalarial, but it is still used today when other treatments cannot be used. 

The Tree Oncologists: Anticancers

According to the World Health Organization, cancer encompasses a broad range of diseases that can occur in any organ or body tissue and are characterized by abnormal cell growth that invades other parts of the body. More than 65 percent of the medications used in cancer treatment originate in plants and their derivatives.

From 1960 to 1981, the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) partnered to screen over 115,000 plant extracts from 15,000 different species, searching for natural compounds that could fight cancer. In 1962, USDA botanist Arthur Barclay collected a sample from the Pacific yew that enabled researchers to isolate paclitaxel, which stops cancer cells from dividing.

Today, paclitaxel is on the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines as a drug that kills cancer cells. Paclitaxel is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and Kaposi sarcoma. Paclitaxel is one of the most important anticancer drugs.

Paclitaxel is not the only cancer fighting drug that comes from the trees. Camptothecin comes from the Camptotheca acumineta, or the “happy tree,” a deciduous tree native that is native to China. Camptothecin prevents cancer cells from replicating their DNA, killing the cells, and its derivatives include topotecan and irinotecan, which are used in the treatment of breast, ovarian, colon, lung, and colorectal cancer.

The Pharmacy We Cannot Afford to Lose

These four medicines represent just a fraction of what forests have given us. There is a clear connection between human health and forest health. 

More than half of all medications derive from 50,000 known medicinal plants — with up to a fifth of these at risk of extinction due to deforestation. Thus, the loss of forests doesn’t just mean losing trees — it means losing knowledge and losing the medicine cabinet of future generations. 

Forest conservation is healthcare infrastructure. Protecting biodiversity is investing in medical research. When we save forests, we’re not just preserving beauty or fighting climate change — we’re maintaining nature’s laboratory, keeping open the possibility that the next revolutionary medicine is growing silently in a forest somewhere, waiting to be discovered. Please consider donating to our Canopy Tree Project to help us plant trees to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, and support communities worldwide.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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