A Kenyan environmental enthusiast, Hillary Kiplagat Kibiwott, is set to go down in history books after setting a new world record in tree planting.

Kibiwott, a 29-year-old from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, successfully planted 23,326 trees within 24 hours, surpassing the previous world record of 23,060 trees. 

In an exercise that began on Wednesday, April 22, and ended on the morning of Thursday, April 23, Kiplagat surpassed an earlier record set in 2021 by Canadian planter Antoine Moses in Alberta, Canada.

The breakthrough took place at Kessup Forest Station in Elgeyo Marakwet, where Kiplagat pushed his physical and mental limits against time to plant as many trees as he could.

His target had been 24,000 trees, and while he narrowly missed that target, his achievement was enough to break the current record.

Despite the milestone, Kibiwott’s new world record has yet to be ratified by the Guinness World Records, the universally recognised body that tracks, verifies and publishes extreme human achievements.

The initiative was supported and overseen by the Kenya Forest Service, alongside local leaders and conservation officials who closely monitored the attempt.

‎“I joined Mr. Hillary Kiplagat Kibiwott today as he took on this legendary challenge.I want to appreciate our community for turning up, bringing the energy, and witnessing greatness unfold. I’m proud to have played my part and supported our son as he makes history,” said Governor Wisely Rotich while flagging off the challenge at Kessup Forest.

Kiplagat’s record-breaking effort aligns with the government’s goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, a move aimed at combating climate change, restoring degraded lands and increasing forest cover.

For Hillary’s record to be ratified by the Guiness World Records, his attempt must be measurable, breakable, verifiable, standardisable, universal and show the single best performance.

“We must be able to measure it objectively, for example in seconds, metres or kilogrammes. We don’t accept records based on opinion, such as ‘best’, ‘most beautiful’ or ‘most talented’,” revealed the Guiness World Records.

According to the global body on record breaking, for the record to be recognised, someone else must be able to challenge and beat it in the future.

Similarly, it has to be possible for anyone to attempt it under the same rules and there must be clear evidence including witnesses, measurements, photos, video, and documents to prove it happened.