International Tree O’Clock – December 5th – 2009
Here is your chance to take part in something amazing!
BBC Breathing Spaces in the UK, is attempting to break some Guinness World Records in the tree world. As a part of National Tree Week in the UK, they have decided to try to break 2 World Records on the same day. 1 of the records is for individuals, and the other record is more of a massive effort of over 100 people!
Needless to say I will be focussing this article on the record that we can all take part in – for individuals and families around the world. And, although this record attempt stems from the UK, you can live anywhere in the world to take part!
You can live in any country in the world to join in the effort, and so far – according to the website today – there have been people from 67 countries pledging to plant a tree!
How Do You Join In?
To get yourself and your friends involved you need to add your pledge to the growing number of ‘planters’ out there – but first of all, you need to decide on where you could plant a young tree – and of course, getting your hands on a suitable tree to plant! Their FAQ should help.
There are strict rules regarding the planting – well, it is a world record so needs to be taken seriously – and there are natural ‘rules’ to make sure your tree actually makes a difference to the environment you plant it in!
So, here’s a summary of the guidelines in the order you need to worry about them:
1) You will need (digital) photographic evidence of you planting your trees – which shows the date and time of the planting, as these need to be emailed to the adjudicators after the event.
2) You must be free between 11am and 12 noon on the 5th of December 2009. If you live outside of the UK, you need to be free at the exact same time – but obviously this won’t be 11am where you live, so you need to work out the time you need to plant your trees. For example, New York planters would need to be digging at 6am on the 5th, and people in Victoria, Australia would need to be planting at 10pm on the 5th.
3) You need to get decide on a suitable tree species to plant in a suitable habitat. Ideally it would be a native tree species sourced locally and with other similar trees already doing well in that area. So, don’t plant a small hazel tree in a densely packed conifer woodland, and only choose birch and the such for wetter areas. The whole point of the record attempt is to make a difference to the environment – so a badly chosen tree or location is a waste of time!
4) So, use their tree guide to decide on planting and caring for your baby trees to make sure that they benefit the wildlife they are surrounded by and so that they make a long-term difference to your community. The UK are offering participants ‘free trees’ for the record attempt – so go to their stockist listings to see where you can get yours from!
5) Now, get online and make your pledge! There is a Tree-O-Meter on their site to keep track of the numbers of tree pledges – 263,669 right now – but the current record is 653,143, so loads to go!
Make sure you are one of them!
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