Apr 15, 2020 21:00:00

Forest management bureau recommends 'hugging trees' in situations where you can not hug with people due to the new coronavirus epidemic

While the new coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) is raging around the world, attempts are being made in each country to keep the social distance from others and prevent the virus from being transmitted. In this situation, hugging with other people is also a “dense contact”, but the

Forestry Department of Iceland calls for “if you can't hug with people, hug with trees”.

Hvetja fólk til að fara út í skóg og knúsa tré | RÚV
https://www.ruv.is/frett/2020/04/08/hvetja-folk-til-ad-fara-ut-i-skog-og-knusa-tre

Forest Service Recommends Hugging Trees While You Can't Hug Others
https://www.icelandreview.com/nature-travel/forest-service-recommends-hugging-trees-while-you-cant-hug-others/

To control the epidemic of COVID-19, experts are advocating measures to keep people from spreading viruses to each other by keeping a social distance. In order to maintain a social distance, it is recommended to avoid direct contact with other people, such as shaking hands, high-touch, hugging, etc., and new dating styles that maintain a social distance have also appeared.

Pandemic evolving dating to a new stage, talking about dating methods that keep social distance-GIGAZINE

Meanwhile, the Icelandic Forest Management Agency recommends 'hugging with trees to improve anxiety in situations where you can't hug with people'. A forest guard in the Hallormsstaður National Forest , about 25 km south of Eilsstadir , the central city of eastern Iceland, 'cleans up trees' to keep people 'hug on trees.' I keep it.

“Hugging a tree makes me feel the presence of the tree first on my toes, then on my legs and chest, and finally on my head. It's a great sense of relaxation, ready for a new day and a new challenge. 'Forest Guards officer Þór Þorfinnsson said.

According to Þorfinnsson, hugging the tree for 5 minutes a day is enough to get the effect. Of course, no matter how much a tree is hugged, it won't complain, so you can hug it as many times as you want in a day. One way to maximize the benefits of hugging a tree is to 'close your eyes while hugging the tree. Keep your cheeks leaning against the trunk of the tree, I can feel the presence of something flowing into me, ”Þorfinnsson advised.

Forest guards seem to mark the forest at intervals of 2 meters so that they can keep a proper social distance even in the forest, so a system that allows multiple visitors to hug the tree at an appropriate distance It is arranged. “We encourage people to spend time outdoors during this horrifying time,” said Forest Guards assistant Bergrún Anna Þórsteinsdóttir, who said that enjoying the forest and hugging the trees would give us energy.

Partly because social distances are recommended, forest guards warn, 'Avoid hugging the same trees as other people.' Therefore, rather than hugging the first tree you see after entering the national forest, it is better to go deep into the forest and choose a tree that does not cover other people, Þorfinnsson recommends. That. “There are a lot of trees, you don't have to choose a big, sturdy tree and it can be any size,” said Þorfinnsson.