Woman who lived up 180-foot tree for 738 days revealed unexpected reason why she did it
Topics: California, Environment, World News, Weird, Community
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Jesse Grant
Topics: California, Environment, World News, Weird, Community
A woman lived up a tree for nearly two years despite 'intimidation tactics' used to try and scare her down.
If you've been fantasising about flipping your desk, quitting your job and getting the hell out of there to go and live on a nice, hot sunny island in Australia, here's a cheaper - albeit definitely more rogue - alternative.
You've heard of people upping sticks and setting sail for life on board a cruise amid the cost of living crisis - and even a man moving into a skip - but how about climbing up and settling into life up a tree?
Julia 'Butterfly' Hill had much more heroic reasons for moving up a tree for two years than simply saving some cash.
Advert
Ending up in Eureka, California after surviving a car accident, environmental activist Julia Hill 'connected' with the redwood trees in the area.
And when she heard Pacific Lumber Company had plans to cut down a 1,000-year-old tree named 'Luna,' she decided to take part in a protest tree sit alongside two others to prevent the tree from being cut down, but also slow logging in the surrounding area and raise environmental awareness.
So, from December 10, 1997 up she went.
Bar a brief trip back down upon falling ill, Hill went back up the tree again, even when the other two volunteers came down.
But how on earth did she manage nearly two years up a tree?
Well, Hill relied on friends to help ferry food and drinks up and down the tree so she could keep on with her protest.
Two six-by-six foot platforms had been built on the tree with tarpaulin strung over to protect Hill as much as possible from wind and rain.
Although, the San Francisco Chronicle reported at the time: "Hill was never truly dry during her two years in Luna."
And despite the company's 'intimidation tactics,' including security guards being stationed below, nearby trees being cut down and helicopters being flown nearby, Hill remained up Luna until December 23, 1999, days after she reached an agreement with the Pacific Lumber Company.
Hill and the Pacific Lumber Company signed 'The Luna Preservation Agreement'.
The agreement stated Luna would remain standing alongside all other trees in the surrounding 200-foot radius.
However, the trees already felled would remain the property of Pacific Lumber.
Pacific Lumber Company ultimately ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2007.
Trees 1 - Pacific Lumber 0.