#HugATree today ~ Let’s show our love for trees around the world.
#HugATree today ~ Let’s show our love for trees around the world.
Vancouver, BC — 03/10/2017 — Today is the first-ever International Hug a Tree Day! Trees do so much for us so get outside and hug a tree – or lots of trees!
A Yale University report estimated that there are more than three trillion trees worldwide. That’s about 450 trees for every person on the planet to hug so get hugging!
Trees do so much and never ask for anything in returnHere are just a few things trees do for us:
- provide oxygen and clean the air
- provide homes and habitats for humans and animals
- provide shade shielding children from harmful UV rays
- combat climate change
- filter water and prevent water pollution
- provide fruit, wood, and shade
- reduce stress, violence and even help heal peopleThe ChariTree Foundation came up with the ‘International Hug a Tree Day’ idea because it’s a fun way to get kids around the globe outside to appreciate nature. In our fast-paced 24/7 world, slowing down is key. When kids, adults –
anyone hugs a tree they can slow down into the moment and really think about the tree they are hugging. ChariTree wants to help change the way you think about trees and forests.
Trees are underestimated.
We are learning more and more bout trees. A recent talk at TEDSummit 2016 by forest ecologist Suzanne Simard. She says “A forest is much more than what you see.” Trees talk to each other and even recognize their offspring.
Trees can count, communicate and even care for each other. These are just a few of the secrets that Peter Wohlleben, a German forest ranger and best-selling author of the book “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries From a Secret World,” observes: “They can count, learn and remember; nurse sick neighbors; warn each other of danger by sending electrical signals across a fungal network known as the ‘Wood Wide Web’ – and, for reasons unknown, keep the ancient stumps of long-felled companions alive for centuries by feeding them a sugar solution through their roots.”
Sadly the Yale University report also stated that nearly 15 billion trees are lost each year due to 
deforestation and the number of trees on Earth has almost halved since the beginning of human civilization. Considering all that trees do for us, please take a moment today to hug a tree.
So what can you do to show your appreciation?
Get outside and hug a tree. If you want you can send a selfie or a photo of you hugging a tree or just tweet: I just hugged a tree! — and add these tags below:
#HugATree @love_trees #trees #forests #LeadonClimate #climatechange #InternationalHugATreeDay
