OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/24/14 -- Editors Note: A photo for this release will be available on the Canadian Press picture wire via Marketwired.
Today, Tree Canada officially achieved a new world record for the "Longest Tree Hug," as declared by a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® adjudicator. Officially, Tree Canada volunteer Adrina Bardekjian hugged a tree for a total of 480 minutes. This new record was set at Montreal's Mount Royal Park in celebration of National Tree Day.
There is no previous record for this category.
While National Tree Day celebrations happen across the country, this was the first year that Tree Canada, the non-profit organization that aids in the preservation and planting of trees in Canadian urban communities, has held its official event outside of Ottawa.
"On National Tree Day, we take time to celebrate the importance of trees to all communities across Canada," said Tree Canada president Michael Rosen. "Montreal's commitment to developing a rich urban canopy made it the perfect location for our National Tree Day celebration and our world record attempt."
Tree Canada was joined at the Mount Royal event by Les amis de la montagne, Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Orleans Royal Galipeau, as well as representatives from Tree Canada sponsors TELUS and Majesta.
Tree Canada hopes to hold National Tree Day events in a different city each year, to share its message of tree conservation and planting. As an organization, Tree Canada believes planting trees can help grow healthier communities, providing a positive impact on the health of the environment, cities and people in general. Here are just a few of the benefits of trees:
-- Trees provide food for people and animals (fruit, berries, and nuts)
-- Trees capture carbon and become carbon 'sinks' which reduce the
Greenhouse Effect; improve air quality
-- Trees' root systems help prevent soil erosion, which prevents water
pollution and flooding
-- Trees provide shade in the summer, which saves on air conditioning
costs; conifers insulate homes in the winter, reducing heating costs
-- Trees shade asphalt, making streets and parking lots cooler and
extending the life of the asphalt
-- Trees planted in fields shield against wind and snow and help protect
crops
-- Trees provide health benefits, such as stress reduction, and speed the
healing process
For more information on Tree Canada and its current programs, please visit treecanada.ca.
About Tree Canada:
Tree Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization established to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. Tree Canada engages Canadian companies, government agencies and individuals to support the planting of trees, the greening of schoolyards, and other efforts to sensitize Canadians to the benefits of planting and maintaining trees. To date, over 80 million trees have been planted, over 550 schoolyards have been greened, and Tree Canada has helped organize ten national urban forest conferences. This year's Canadian Urban Forest Conference will take place in Victoria, BC from September 30-October 2, 2014. More information about Tree Canada is available at www.treecanada.ca.
To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20140924-969704_photo_800.jpg
Contacts:
Richard Walker
Director of Communications and Program Development
Tree Canada
+1 613 567 5545 ext. 224
rwalker@treecanada.ca
