At 16, Jadav Payeng saw his homeland in India drying up. Floods had wiped out the forests, and animals disappeared. But instead of giving up, he planted a tree.

Then another. And another.

For 40 years, Jadav planted trees—by hand. Today, his forest is larger than New York’s Central Park, home to elephants, tigers, and birds. It’s so big it appears on satellite maps.

They now call him the “Forest Man of India.” But he says, “I just did what I could.”