Feeling Sad? Hug a Tree!
2020-07-25
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1To stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic, we have had to sacrifice many things we enjoy, including physical contact with others.
2Gone are handshakes, kisses and hugs.
3Research has shown that humans need physical touch to stay mentally and physically healthy.
4Without it, many become lonely, sad and even sick.
5So, if you feel you need a hug, we know something you can safely put your arms around and hold close:
6A tree!
7Tree hugging may sound a little strange.
8But humans have practiced forms of nature therapy for years.
9The Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku is an example.
10Shinrin means forest in Japanese, and yoku is the Japanese word for bath.
11But no soap or water is needed for shinrin-yoku.
12All that nature bathing requires is spending time in nature: listening to its sounds, breathing in its scent, connecting to its life force.
13Recently, Israel has been promoting tree hugging on social media.
14The country's nature and parks agency is behind the public health campaign.
15Orit Steinfeld is marketing director for Israel's Apollonia National Park.
16"In this unpleasant corona period," she said, "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."
17The park is about 15 kilometers north of Tel Aviv.
18Inside the park, some visitors observed the official's advice and hugged trees.
19Barbara Grant was one of them.
20"The most basic human need," she said, "is for connection, for touching, for hugging."
21Visitor Moshe Hazan told Reuters he came to the park to hug a tree.
22"We are not hugging too many people these days. Hugging a tree is quite a nice thing to do."
23In May the coronavirus spread slowed in Israel.
24However, case numbers increased there in recent weeks.
25In response, the country renewed many COVID-19 restrictions.
26Israel's tree-hugging campaign is not the first of the pandemic.
27Iceland's Forest Service launched a similar effort in April.
28They advised everyone in the country to hug a tree for at least five minutes every day.
29The Reuters news agency shared a short video showing people in Iceland hugging trees in the forest.
30Park officials also cleared paths in the woods so that visitors could socially distance while they searched for that special tree.
31"There are plenty of trees," said a forest worker in the video, "no need for everyone to hug the same tree."
32The story on Iceland's tree-hugging campaign was also reported on Treehugger.com. Naturally.
33I'm Anna Matteo.
1To stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic, we have had to sacrifice many things we enjoy, including physical contact with others. Gone are handshakes, kisses and hugs. 2Research has shown that humans need physical touch to stay mentally and physically healthy. Without it, many become lonely, sad and even sick. 3So, if you feel you need a hug, we know something you can safely put your arms around and hold close: 4A tree! 5Tree hugging may sound a little strange. But humans have practiced forms of nature therapy for years. 6The Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku is an example. Shinrin means forest in Japanese, and yoku is the Japanese word for bath. But no soap or water is needed for shinrin-yoku. All that nature bathing requires is spending time in nature: listening to its sounds, breathing in its scent, connecting to its life force. 7Recently, Israel has been promoting tree hugging on social media. The country's nature and parks agency is behind the public health campaign. Orit Steinfeld is marketing director for Israel's Apollonia National Park. 8"In this unpleasant corona period," she said, "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." 9The park is about 15 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. Inside the park, some visitors observed the official's advice and hugged trees. 10Barbara Grant was one of them. 11"The most basic human need," she said, "is for connection, for touching, for hugging." 12Visitor Moshe Hazan told Reuters he came to the park to hug a tree. 13"We are not hugging too many people these days. Hugging a tree is quite a nice thing to do." 14In May the coronavirus spread slowed in Israel. However, case numbers increased there in recent weeks. In response, the country renewed many COVID-19 restrictions. 15Israel's tree-hugging campaign is not the first of the pandemic. Iceland's Forest Service launched a similar effort in April. They advised everyone in the country to hug a tree for at least five minutes every day. 16The Reuters news agency shared a short video showing people in Iceland hugging trees in the forest. Park officials also cleared paths in the woods so that visitors could socially distance while they searched for that special tree. 17"There are plenty of trees," said a forest worker in the video, "no need for everyone to hug the same tree." 18The story on Iceland's tree-hugging campaign was also reported on Treehugger.com. Naturally. 19I'm Anna Matteo. 20Reuters reported this story. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 21________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23pandemic medical noun: an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 24hug - n. to put your arms around someone especially as a way of showing love or friendship 25scent - n. a pleasant smell that is produced by something 26promote - v. to help (something) happen, develop, or increase 27recommend - v. to suggest that someone do (something) 28unpleasant - adj. not enjoyable : causing discomfort or pain 29express - v. to make known especially in words or actions 30basic - adj. forming or relating to the most important part of something 31spike - n. to undergo a sudden sharp increase in, usually up to an indicated level