At 8pm an air horn sounded the start of a one minute tree hug on the evening of midsummer 2014 at the Botanics. The weather was overcast, but pleasantly warm. For the duration of the tree hug the Garden went quiet. Then the horn sounded for a second time, and as quickly as it had died away the gentle sound of conversation and laughter returned.

The participants signed a sheet to act as evidence in this world record attempt and we now know that the total number of people involved was 1,387. The youngest was just seven months.

Whether this will turn out to be a world record is unclear as an unofficial world record was set in Nepal recently that involved 2,000 people. This record will only be accepted if the supporting evidence can be provided. If it cannot then the Botanics tree hug would represent the current world record.

We will be following this up and keeping our fingers crossed.

A big thank you to all those who took part.

The tree hug at midsummer 2014 attracted 1,387 participants.