If you have ever wrapped your arms around the trunk of a tree and given it a good old hug, you likely would have noticed a warm feeling come over you afterwards. In fact, it’s the same kind of feeling that is stimulated by hugging a real person and can help one relax, overcome feelings of isolation and strengthen overall feelings of wellbeing.

It’s why in Israel tree-hugging is being recommended by the nation’s Nature and Parks Authority after a similar campaign (and widely successful) campaign was rolled out by Iceland’s Forest Service earlier this year. In Israel, hundreds of participants came together in Apollonia National Park to hug trees as part of their healing process.

“In this unpleasant corona period we recommend to people around the world to go out to nature, take a deep breath, hug a tree, express your love and get love,” Orit Steinfeld, Marketing Director at Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, told Reuters. 

But it’s not just Israel and Iceland encouraging their citizens to get outdoors and hug a tree for their health, it’s us too! With uncertainty surrounding the ongoing pandemic causing the cancellation of public National Tree Day planting events for the first time in 25 years, we’ve launched the #HugaTreeforNTD campaign to encourage Australians to get outdoors and hug a tree to show their commitment to regeneration.