THE Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh has issued a call to action for local people to set aside one minute on Sunday 1 December to help set a world record.
Scotland’s Tree Trail has announced it intends to go head to head with the USA for their recentlyclaimed title of the World’s Largest Tree Hug, a record so new that the tree-huggers of Portland, Oregon, are yet to secure formal recognition for it from Guinness World Records.
Scotland’s tree hugging World Record attempt will take place simultaneously across eleven separate sites, on Sunday 1st December 2013 at Midday, marking a culmination of events celebrating National Tree Week in the UK and the Year of Natural Scotland.
The original record for the World’s Largest Tree Hug was set by Forestry Commission England on 11 September 2011, in an event that brought together 702 people hugging trees at the Delamare Forest in Cheshire to celebrate the International Year of the Forests.
The new record for Portland, Oregon USA is currently pending approval by Guinness World Records, who gathered 950 tree huggers together on July 20th 2013.
Tom Christian, project officer for Scotland’s Tree Trail, said: “Scotland’s Tree Trail is a collection of diverse sites which demonstrate Scotland’s unique standing and global importance in forestry, arboriculture and tree conservation. This record attempt is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the Year of Natural Scotland, mark National Tree Week and to have a bit of fun in the process.
“Eleven of the 16 sites in Scotland’s Tree Trail are taking part and we only need 1,000 people to help us take the record from our American counterparts. We believe that Scotland is a nation of tree lovers – let’s help prove that we are also a nation of tree huggers.”
The record attempt will take place at midday, for one minute of tree hugging, across Scotland.
Max Coleman, from the RBGE site, said: “We are really excited to be getting involved with this record attempt and we really need local people of all ages to come along and get involved. It’s free to participate, a great opportunity to be part of the launch of Scotland’s Tree Trail and, you never know, we may even set a World Record in the process.”
Syd House, Forestry Commission Scotland, said: “This is a fantastic way to bring the Year of Natural Scotland to an end – who wouldn’t want to hug a tree and set a new World Record? We really want as many people to get involved as possible so check for your nearest location and pop along on Sunday 1st December and help make history.”
For more information on the sites participating in the world record attempt please visit www.TreeTrailScotland.com
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