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Truckee tree-planting effort part of Guinness World Record attempt

Margaret Moran
mmoran@sierrasun.com
On May 20, Sugar Pine Foundation and Tahoe Donner Forestry Department are partnering to conduct a tree planting effort of Western white pines.
Courtesy Sugar Pine Foundation |

More online

Visit sugarpinefoundation.org to learn more about Sugar Pine Foundation.

Visit tahoedonner.com/news/category/forestry to learn more about Tahoe Donner Forestry Department.

Visit sfiprogram.org to learn more about SFI Inc.

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If you go

What: Attempt to set a Guinness World Record.

Where: Meet at 15024 Glacier Way off Skislope Way. There is a parking lot on the left that ends with a gate, where carpools will take participants to the planting site in Tahoe Donner.

When: 9 to 11:30 a.m., with planting from 10 to 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 20

RSVP: Write to Sugar Pine Foundation staff member Martin Rubio at martin@sugarpinefoundation.org by Sunday, May 17.

Source: Sugar Pine Foundation

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Dirt will soon fly. On Wednesday, May 20, the Sugar Pine Foundation and Tahoe Donner Forestry Department will partner to plant trees as a part of a forest rehab project — and to set a Guinness World Record in the process.

The Truckee group aims to plant 250 Western white pines in Tahoe Donner in the area of the vegetation scar left behind by the 1960 Donner Ridge Fire, said Maria Mircheva, executive director of Sugar Pine Foundation.

This effort will help replenish the Western white pine population, which is threatened by a non-native invasive fungus called white pine blister rust, she said. The year-old seedlings that will be planted are fungus-resistant.



“This is what we do — we plant trees, so why not help set a world record and be part of something bigger?” Mircheva said.

The record attempt is to plant the most trees in an hour in multiple locations, simultaneously, by groups of 25 to 100 people.



The Truckee group (which is still looking for participants), along with 40 other groups across North America, will plant an estimated 200,000 trees in that one hour.

According to SFI Inc., the nonprofit organizing the attempt, the key objective is to represent the organization’s dedication to responsible management and conservation of healthy, sustainable forests, and to support communities that depend on such forests.

“A tree planting is totally in line with the area’s environmental values,” Mircheva said. “If we want to enjoy beautiful scenery and forests, we need to participate in keeping them that way.”

Planting participants are advised to bring water, hiking shoes, sunscreen and a hat. Trees, gloves and shovels will be supplied.

Video, photos and independent witnesses will record the attempt at each location, which Guinness World Records will use to determine if the effort was successful. The verification process can take up to 12 weeks.

When asked of the likelihood of the group reaching its goal, Mircheva said: “I think we pretty much have it in the bag.”

All participants will receive a personalized Guinness World Records certificate upon record confirmation.

Questions should be directed to Mircheva at 650-814-9565.


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