NAIROBI: A Kenyan environmental activist has sent a quiet but resolute message on caring for the planet after setting a world record by hugging a tree for 72 hours in Nairobi from Dec 8-11, 2025,
Guinness World Records reported.
Truphena Muthoni (
pic), 22, reclaimed the record after a series of short-lived marks since 2024, improving on her own 48-hour effort set earlier in 2025.
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Explaining her motivation, she said the first attempt was “a statement” while the second was “a commitment,” adding that climate action “is not a one-off event, but a sustained responsibility.”
Muthoni said lessons from her first attempt reshaped her preparation, noting that dry fasting and strenuous training were mistakes that strained her body, while increased hydration and calmer preparation made the second attempt physically manageable despite sleepiness.
As with all marathon record attempts, she earned five minutes of rest for every hour of activity, choosing when to take or save those breaks.
Through the record, she hopes to show that “healing the planet does not require violence, conflict, or fear,” saying care can begin simply and that conservation should come “from a place of love instead of instruction.”
After surpassing her previous 48-hour mark, she was blindfolded in tribute to people living with disabilities, with an ambulance on standby as a precaution.
Humbled by breaking the record twice, Muthoni said she sees the effort not as a personal victory but as a way of offering time back to the Earth for reflection, reconnection and collective responsibility.
