Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Richmond

Jolly Good: King of Bhutan Requests Selfless Gift

Diana Taliun/Shutterstock.com

The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, turned 40 years old on February 21. Rather than ask for gifts, he asked his people to either plant a tree, adopt a stray animal or clean up their neighborhood in his honor. The Himalayan nation is consistently ranked one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world. In May 2016, Wangchuck and his wife celebrated the birth of their firstborn son by asking each of the nation’s households to plant a sapling, resulting in more than 108,000 trees planted.