Abdul Hakim Awal, a Ghanaian, has established a new Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest hug of a tree.
GWR reported on Tuesday that a 23-year-old journalist spent 24 hours and 21 minutes hugging a tree.
Awal had “to remain standing and keep his arms wrapped around the tree throughout the entire duration” to accomplish the feat.
He also did not give any breaks during the attempt.
Speaking about the feat, Awal stated that his goal is to “promote reforestation and nature conservation in Ghana”.
“We know how trees, an essential resource which the entire human race depends on, are becoming scarce in Ghana,” he said.
“Though we have been taught about preservation of trees since the early years of our lives, the contribution from everyone is not as significant as it should be.
“This attempt for the longest time to hug a tree, to me, spells out an important task to preserve human life by preserving trees.”
Awal stated that he will plant a new tree for each minute his record attempt lasted.
After finishing in 1,461 minutes, Awal is expected to plant 1,461 trees.
Awal broke the previous record of 16 hours set by Ugandan environmental campaigner Faith Patricia Ariokot earlier this year.
Faith Patricia Ariokot is the first to hold the record.
GWR announced that now that the record has surpassed 24 hours, the title has been modified to ‘Longest marathon hugging a tree’.
The next individual who attempts it will also be allowed a two-hour respite each day.