In the early morning hours of Sunday, July 13, more than 25,000 volunteers gathered at Bhadaj in Ahmedabad, India, ready to do something no group had ever done in an hour's time.

By the time 60 minutes had passed, they had planted 361,000 saplings across 76,000 square meters of urban land — using the Miyawaki method, planting 35 different indigenous species, and in the process setting a Guinness World Record for most saplings planted in a single hour.

The Miyawaki Method

The approach, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, is specifically designed for rapid urban forest creation. Unlike conventional plantation drives that space trees far apart, the Miyawaki method plants native trees extremely close together — often dozens per square meter — in carefully prepared, layered soil. The density forces the saplings to compete for light, pushing them to grow up to 10 times faster than trees planted with standard spacing. The result is a dense, self-sustaining native forest that takes root in just a few years instead of decades.

Ahmedabad's plantation drive used this technique across 76,000 square meters at Bhadaj, part of a broader initiative to plant 50 lakh (5 million) trees across the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation area. The full goal extends across the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, targeting 1.25 crore (12.5 million) trees in total.

A City-Wide Effort

The record-setting event brought together an unusually broad coalition. Volunteers included NCC cadets, BAPS representatives, CREDAI members, students, police personnel, school board representatives, NGO workers, and thousands of ordinary citizens. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and state government coordinated the logistics, with participation at the highest levels of Gujarat's leadership.

"A record rooted in responsibility," said Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi in a post on social media, congratulating the volunteers. "Every sapling planted today is a promise of a greener tomorrow."

This was also the second time the state has backed such an effort. The broader plantation drive forms part of a coordinated afforestation push that has been building momentum across Gujarat, combining civic energy with scientific method.

Why It Matters Beyond the Record

Urban forests created through the Miyawaki method do far more than improve air quality. Dense native plantings support local biodiversity, reduce the urban heat island effect, improve stormwater absorption, and create habitat corridors for birds and insects. By planting 35 indigenous species selected for the region, Ahmedabad's new forest will actively strengthen the ecological fabric of the surrounding urban environment for generations.

The drive also reflects a growing global recognition that cities must invest in green infrastructure. Urban planners and scientists increasingly view tree canopy as one of the most cost-effective tools available for managing heat, air quality, and biodiversity at a local scale. In an era of intense urban warming, a single hour of coordinated community effort can lay the biological foundation for decades of cooling shade.

The new trees will grow on. And when they do, 25,000 people will know they helped plant each one.