13K children hug trees for Guinness record

BENGALURU: Over 13,000 children from 40 schools across the state participated in ‘Hug a tree’ campaign, in an attempt to create a Guinness record. In March, this year, over 4,000 people had participated in a similar even in Kerala.

Hug a tree campaign was organised by the State Horticulture Department in association with Rotary Club. On Friday morning, over 13,000 children of different age groups hugged trees in Lalbagh to create awareness about saving trees.  “A hug is powerful, it can create a bond between children and mother nature. This will help us create a generation that cares for nature,” said one of the organisers, Dr James Thomas. “We are aiming at creating a generation that has a personal relation with nature, a bond that goes beyond just conservation. This isn’t just another record attempt.”

The event saw enthusiastic participation of children from Bengaluru, Kolar and Shivamogga. “We had children coming all the way from Shivamogga, exclusively for the event,” said Harini Raveendranath, member of the organising team.Suraksha, a twelve-year old from a private school in Binnypete, said, “Trees are like our friends. We shouldn’t cut them.”

The event was documented by over 200 observers.  “There was a similar attempt in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala back in March which had 4,620 people hugging trees. Our attempt was to break that record,” said Nithya Leela, an organizer.