Trees can be planted with slingshots too！Afforestation in Thai national parks is super easy

By Li Xinyi, Interview & Report

Have you heard of tree planting with slingshots? In Thailand’s Thap Lan National Park, seeds are shot out using slingshots to help trees propagate. Thap Lan National Park is about 200 kilometers from Bangkok and is part of Khao Yai National Park, which is a larger protected area. Covering an area of 6,155 square kilometers across four Thai provinces, Khao Yai National Park is roughly the size of three New Taipei Cities. Due to its vast expanse, different regions under Khao Yai also have their own individual national park names.

The method of using slingshots to shoot seeds for tree planting in Thap Lan National Park has been around for over a decade. In addition to the park's sufficient elevation, two to three types of seeds found here can only be successfully planted this way—traditional soil burial would prevent them from germinating. One type belongs to the palm family, featuring large seeds. The leaves of this plant were historically used by Thais for writing, then later strung together as pages. Because the leaves are not eaten by termites, they were often used to record Buddhist scriptures and national histories; they were also sometimes used to roof thatched huts. This species of palm can live for 70 to 80 years and blooms just once in its lifetime, making its seeds extremely precious.

As the Thai government is committed to protecting the region’s rich ecological resources, there are many tree-planting experiences available within Khao Yai National Park, but Thap Lan is the only one that uses slingshots to shoot seeds for planting. The method here is simple: stand on a cliff edge and use a slingshot to send seeds flying into the distance until your supply runs out—mission accomplished. It’s arguably the easiest way to contribute to greening. Contact number: +66-8-6251-6496.