Often criticized for its lax approach to deforestation, Mexico’s Day of National Reforestation saw Mexican citizens plant an incredible 9 million, 345 thousand 984 trees in a single day according to  Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada.

Over half a million people participated in the effort, which contributed significantly to Mexico’s goal of planting 280 million trees during 2008.

71 percent of the trees were planted in rural areas and 29 percent in urban areas, making a total of 685 hectares (about 1700 acres) being reforested. The cost of the one day project was over 26 million pesos (2.5 million US dollars).

It’s a great effort, but it just goes to show how many trees can occupy a single acre in terms of natural coverage; i.e. how many trees are destroyed when land is cleared.

You can read more about it here: English translation | Spanish (original)

While Green Living Tips won’t ever match Mexico’s effort, you can add to the 6,000+ trees Green Living Tips readers have sponsored, simply by signing up for our free newsletter! For each subscription, we sponsor a tree – it only takes a minute to do and doesn’t cost you a cent! Learn more about our tree planting initiative here.