Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Firemen, foresters and athletes are among 100 Conservation Volunteers who today (Saturday 5 December 2009) successfully broke the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in a single location in one hour.

The record-beating attempt, on the banks of the River Foyle, was part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Breathing Places Tree O'Clock Campaign during National Tree Week.

The team, led by volunteer Ivan Black, planted 26,422 trees, as verified by Guinness World Records adjudicators.

The ambitious challenge was to plant more than 18,124 trees – the record previously held by a team of school children, the Forestry Commission Scotland, and BP staff in Aberdeenshire.

The team planting in Gransha Park, Londonderry was supported by Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland.

Some 4,000 mini oak trees supplied by them were planted on the day – along with a mix of other native species – in a bid to create an area of new woodland.

The team was recruited from across Northern Ireland and actively looked for the strongest, fastest, tree planters to make up the crew.

They were competing against English teams in Essex and Hertfordshire.

In Heartwood Forest, St Albans the team included Harpenden and St Albans Air Cadets and two teams of Hertfordshire mixed Explorer Scout Groups. The total number of trees planted was 20,326.

In Hainault Forest, Chigwell three teams of Essex and North London Explorer Scouts and members of Give Love Find Love were among the planters and their grand total was 20,312.

Sue Holden, Chief Executive of The Woodland Trust, says: "Together we are all record breakers today! Congratulations to Northern Ireland and to all our teams and supporters for a fantastic effort. Today 26,422 trees have been planted, beating the current Guinness World Record of 18,124, which is a phenomenal achievement.

"As part of Tree O'Clock the Woodland Trust will have planted over 70,000 trees across the UK today, enough trees to cover 5,000 football pitches.

"This figure combined with all the hundreds of thousands of other trees planted by individuals at many sites, and in back gardens, will go on having lasting benefits for native wildlife, for people and our environment for generations to come.

"We have achieved all of this in just one hour – if we can do all this in 60 minutes, imagine what we can do together in the future. Today is just the start of a great journey to a better future for all of us."

Hundreds of tree-planting events took place today across the UK and this ambitious attempt was part of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Learning's Breathing Places campaign which aims to encourage everyone to "do one thing" for wildlife.

Planting trees also provides a lasting legacy for communities across the UK for many years to come.

Everyone was invited to take part, plant a tree and set a new world record.

By encouraging people to plant the right tree in the right place, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Breathing Places successfully delivered a special learning opportunity.

Liz Cleaver, Controller of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Learning, says: "I'm delighted that so many people got stuck in and planted trees, many for the first time.

"This event will leave a real lasting legacy for local communities across the country as well as furthering people's understanding of wildlife and trees."

It is hoped that the campaign may also have come close to the world record for the most trees planted in multiple sites in one hour. The record is currently 653,143 and is held in the Philippines.

Guinness World Records will be inspecting the records sent in by those participating in the attempt and will announce the result in due course.

The deadline for emailing photographs to breathingplacestrees@bbc.co.uk is noon on Friday 11 December 2009.

SS