Live to Love Breaks Global Record in Ladakh (India)

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Oct 30, 2012, 10:44 ET

NEW DELHI, October 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Live to Love, an international humanitarian initiative, led Ladakh in creating history by breaking a world record for "Most Trees Planted Simultaneously". In less than one hour, 99,103 Ladakhi willow saplings were planted by 9,814 volunteers near the world-famous Hemis monastery in Ladakh. Kimberly Dennis from Guinness World Records (UK) adjudicated the attempt and made the announcement confirming the success of the attempt.

Live to Love led Ladakh in breaking the record set by the Philippines where 66,000 trees were planted within an hour in January 2011. The new record almost doubled its earlier successful attempt set in October 2010, with 9,033 volunteers planting 50,033 saplings.

Photo Link: http://drukpa.mediafire.com/?2rozq46agk6vs

His Holiness the Gyalwang Drupka personally joined the record breaking attempt to encourage participants from all over Ladakh and many others who had travelled from Bhutan, Vietnam, Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the United States, Australia, Canada and Malaysia. Speaking on the achievement, His Holiness said, "Ladakh has made India proud. They have proved that nothing is impossible by achieving this feat in the extremely harsh climatic and ground situation. They have set an example for the entire world, and we hope that increasingly more countries and organisations will come forward to break our record. We welcome the entire world to join us in creating a sustainable environment."

Having travelled from London to adjudicate the attempt, Kimberly Dennis commented, "The whole event was simply inspiring. Thousands of people braved the inclement weather and worked in complete tandem to attain this goal. It was so exciting that I was almost compelled to cross side and become an active participant from a passive watcher."

The plantation drive was performed over an area of about 60 acres. Volunteers sat with shovels at the spot marked for them, ready to dig a pit and plant a sapling as soon as the countdown ended. Ladakhi willow saplings were planted by stem grafting with roots to grow in this time of the year.

It was an unprecedented sight with people of all ages - excluding those under the age of 19, as per the guidelines - waiting with great enthusiasm to do their bit towards greening of this part of the Indus Valley, which is otherwise quite dry and barren. Overseeing the event were hundreds of volunteers of the Live to Love, Young Drupka Association (YDA), and Ladakh Buddhists' Association. The GWR organisation had also enlisted several enumerators and supervisors to ensure that the actual count was recorded and authenticated in time to qualify for the record.

Speaking to the huge gathering after the announcement on the successful attempt of record breaking was made, His Holiness the Gyalwang Drupka said it had been made possible with the participation of all people of Ladakh. He reiterated his commitment to work for the improvement of environment and education for the people. Also present at the occasion were the Home Minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan Minjur Dorji, the Chief Executive Commissioner of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council Rigzin Spalbar and several officials and guests from many countries. The entire hillside wore a festive look as the event was followed by a presentation of folk dances and songs by traditional Ladakhi artists.

Live to Love India's Head Arjun Pandey talking about the organisation's next initiative said, "Encouraged by the success of this initiative, we will continue to focus on key aspects like environment and education amongst others. In December, we are organising a Pad Yatra in Sri Lanka spanning 30 days and 500 km to raise awareness about the environment."

About Live to Love

Live to Love is an international network of non-profit organizations, founded by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa to create and to support lasting solutions to modern problems. The organization focuses of environment, education, medical services and cultural preservation.

Live to Love's network includes the following regions: Bhutan, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Vietnam, UK, and USA.