By Abubakar Yunusa Ojima-Ojo
Abdul Hakim Awal, a Ghanaian journalist, has broken the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest time spent hugging a tree.
Awal’s “tree-hug-a-thon” lasted an impressive 24 hours and 21 minutes, surpassing the previous record set by Ugandan activist Faith Ariokot.
This achievement comes after another Ghanaian, Abubakar Tahiru, a forestry student and activist, set the record for the most trees hugged in one hour in April. Tahiru managed to hug an astonishing 1,123 trees, averaging almost 19 per minute.
The Explainer learned that Awal’s challenge aimed to raise awareness about the importance of nature conservation in Ghana. As part of his record attempt, he pledged to plant a new tree for every minute the endeavor lasted, resulting in a total of 1,461 trees.
The Guinness World Records stated on their website, “Though we have been taught about the preservation of trees since our early years, the contribution of everyone is not as significant as it should be. This attempt for the longest time to hug a tree spells out an important task to preserve human life by preserving trees.”
The record-keeping body also announced that with this new milestone, the title has been modified to “longest marathon hugging a tree,” allowing future challengers to take breaks (up to two hours per day) to combat the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
Awal, who has witnessed the consequences of desertification in his family’s hometown of Garu, now hopes to establish a nationwide tree-planting initiative in Ghana.
“We know how trees, an essential resource the entire human race depends on, are becoming scarce in Ghana,” he said.