A West Fraser Timber team of 39 people planted 4,588 spruce tree saplings during the Wednesday, May 20 attempt to break the world record of most trees planted in one hour organized by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
The Williams Lake team was one of 29 teams across North America working together on the record-breaking attempt.
In an e-mail issued Thursday to participating teams, SFI communications manager Danny Karch said the 29 teams participating in the Guinness world record event successfully planted more than 200,000 trees in one hour.
“Thanks to your efforts, we have more than quadrupled the old record of 40,885 trees,” Karch noted in the e-mail. “In fact, one of the JD Irving teams broke the record on their own by planting 52,598 trees!”
Karch noted Wednesday’s planting was an attempt and it will only be made official after Guinness does a review of SFI’s report.
“We expect this official confirmation in late June,” Karch said.
The local team planted the saplings on a previously logged cut block located at Choate Creek near Horsefly.