Ugandan activist hugs tree for 16 hours to set world record after 3 attempts

An environmental activist from Kampala, Uganda, has set a world record for the longest time to hug a tree.

Faith Patricia Ariokot, 29, is now the first official holder of the record.

She wrapped her arms around a tree trunk for 16 hours 6 seconds. According to Faith, the record attempt was to encourage others to plant trees, and to highlight the need for humans to protect them.

“They are the greatest soldiers in the fight against climate change,” Faith said.

Faith says that selecting a tree to hug for this record attempt “felt like picking a bridal dress”.

"The tree chose me" says Ugandan activist who hugged a tree for 16 hours to break a record 🌳

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— Guinness World Records (@GWR) February 23, 2024

“The tree chose me, and it was like love at first sight,” she explained. “When I saw the tree, I knew it was the one I would go for.”

This was her third time within a month that Faith attempted to set the record. In her first attempt, her camera failed to record much of her time while her second attempt was interrupted by a thunderstorm.

The Guinness World Record (GWR) reports that Faith’s challenge differs from the other records such as the longest cooking marathon where challengers are allowed five minutes of rest time after each continuous hour of activity.

The GWR said record attempts are considered as ‘marathons’ only when they exceed 24 hours.

However, Faith was not permitted any breaks because she was not aiming at exceeding 24 hours.

Her arms could not be released from the tree at any point, and she was required to stand for the entire duration of the record attempt.

“My feet for over 16 hours straight were killing me,” she recounted.

“The tree with its rough surface cut into my skin and caused a lot of pain to say the least, and yet I had to keep holding on,” Faith said.

Just one hour into her challenge, Faith considered quitting because she was discouraged by the previous two setbacks.

At the latter part of the challenge, she admits she “broke down” and wanted to give up, but says she was consoled by the tree to carry on with her challenge.

“I believe trees really have feelings and can sense what we are going through. It gave me the comfort I needed to keep going.”

Faith now hopes that this groundbreaking record will inspire everyone in the world to go out and plant a tree.