Hainault Forest in London and the Trust's largest site in England, Heartwood Forest were the scene of a world record attempt as part of the BBC's "Tree O'Clock" campaign on Saturday December 5th.
Watch our video of the day's events
The teams were attempting to break the record for the most trees planted in one hour by 100 volunteers - 18,124 trees – the record previously held by a team of school children, the Forestry Commission Scotland, and BP staff in Aberdeenshire.
Both teams smashed the previous record, planting over 20,000 trees at each site. However a third planting site at Gransha Park in Londonderry, with volunteer firemen, foresters and athletes planted over 26,000 trees, setting the new Guinness World Record.
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. While 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.
Says Sue Holden, chief executive of The Woodland Trust: “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 55 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 BBC 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, BBC Breathing Places successfully delivered a special learning opportunity.
Liz Cleaver, Controller of BBC 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 peoples’ 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.
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
About BBC Learning:
- The BBC is committed to education and personal development. BBC Breathing Places is one of the many unique and varied offerings from BBC Learning. For more information on all the learning programmes offered for adults, teachers, parents and students, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning
- BBC Learning also delivers campaigns that aim to inspire and empower individuals to take action – action that changes their lives, benefits communities and helps to transform society.
About BBC Breathing Places:
- Tree O’Clock is part of BBC Breathing Places, a five-year campaign to encourage all of us to get outside and make space for nature. Developed in partnership with a huge range of wildlife and conservation organisations, the campaign encourages new audiences to get involved in doing one thing for nature, while providing opportunities for Breathing Places to be created across the UK. Already millions of people have been inspired to do one thing for nature.
- £9.5m from the Big Lottery Fund has been invested in creating new breathing places. Over 11,000 schools have signed up to become a BP School, and nearly 10,000 breathing places are registered on the Event Finder.
- www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces provides details on how to do one thing for nature where you live, from putting up a bird feeder to creating a breathing place. The public can also search around 10,000 breathing places on the Breathing Places Event Finder to locate nature friendly places and events near them.
- A breathing place is great for both wildlife and people. It has an active community of people creating, enjoying and maintaining it.