Kenyan Environmentalist Truphena Muthoni Breaks New Ground With 72-Hour Tree-Hugging World Record in Nyeri
Muthoni hugs an indigenous cedar tree as she begins her three-day and three-night environmental vigil. She withstood low night temperatures, pain, and exhaustion.
Truphena Muthoni. Photo/Courtesy.
By Ruth Sang
There has been a significant uplift in Kenya’s environmental movement as 22-year-old environmental activist Truphena Muthoni has broken a new world record in tree-hugging, where she hugged a tree for 72 hours in Nyeri, thereby beating her own 48-hour record that she set in February this year.
The attempt occurred in a scenic area along Aberdare Forest, where Muthoni started her journey early yesterday morning. This area became a meeting point for fans, which included environmentalists, youth, elders, and other curious individuals, who were waiting along this stretch as she struggled hour by hour. There were those who stayed overnight in support of her.
Muthoni hugs an indigenous cedar tree as she begins her three-day and three-night environmental vigil. She withstood low night temperatures, pain, and exhaustion. Reports say she showed determination and focus despite all that she was going through.
As soon as the stopwatch reached 72 hours, teams of medical personnel and event staff were brought in to assess her immediately. After establishing that her condition was stable and that she has met all the requirements for this world record attempt, her event was deemed a success. They announced that it would take some time for evidence of her continuous surveillance, timing, and witnesses to be submitted for world record approval.
Speaking shortly afterwards, when she was escorted from under the tree, a visibly drained but celebratory Muthoni said her achievement meant much more to her than a victory.
“This wasn’t ever just a challenge for the sake of a challenge,” she said. “My hope would be that it brings all of our attention back to our forests. If this did inspire just one other individual to stand up for nature, then this challenge has served a purpose.”
Organizers of the event stated that all rules used in the challenge were followed. Hydration help was allowed for a limited period to Muthoni, while she has continuous body contact with the tree.
The officials from Nyeri County, where she resides, were pleased with her creativity, as her project ensures that youth are now part of conservation in their own way, especially when their ecosystem faces threats from human expansion, cutting down trees, and climatic changes.
Muthoni seemed to hint that this challenge may not be the end of her exploits, as she has already started contemplating yet a tougher challenge in the near future. She, however, reinforced her pledge to continue being an environmental campaigner. This has been received with widespread public appreciation and has brought back to fore the involvement of youth in determining Kenya’s environmental future.
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