A woman stayed on a tree for over two years despite ‘intimidation measures’ used to scare her down.
If you’ve been fantasizing about flipping your desk, quitting your job, and moving to a nice, hot, sunny island in Australia, here’s a less expensive – but definitely more rogue – alternative.
You’ve heard of people upping sticks and setting sail for life on a cruise during the expense of living issue, as well as a man relocating into a skip, but what about climbing up and settling into life up a tree?
Julia ‘Butterfly’ Hill had far more heroic motivations for climbing a tree for two years than merely saving money.
Why Julia Hill stayed on a Californian tree for nearly two years
After surviving an automobile accident in Eureka, California, environmental campaigner Julia Hill ‘bonded’ with the redwood trees nearby.
When she learned that Pacific Lumber Company was planning to cut down a 1,000-year-old tree named ‘Luna,’ she decided to participate in a protest tree sit with two others to not only prevent the tree from being taken down, but also to delay logging in the region and promote environmental awareness.
So, starting December 10, 1997, she climbed up.
Hill climbed the tree again, despite the fact that the other two volunteers had come down.
But how did she survive over two years atop a tree?
How Julia Hill survived nearly two years up in a tree.
Hill relied on friends to bring food and drinks up and down the tree so she could continue her protest.
To shelter Hill from wind and rain, two six-by-six-foot platforms were erected on the tree and covered with tarps.
Nonetheless, the San Francisco Chronicle stated at the time that “Hill was never truly dry during her two years in Luna.”
Despite the company’s ‘intimidation techniques,’ which included security guards stationed below, adjacent trees being cut down, and helicopters flying above, Hill remained on Luna until December 23, 1999, just days after reaching an agreement with the Pacific Lumber Company.
Julia Hill and the Pacific Lumber Company signed ‘The Luna Preservation Agreement’, resulting in her removal from the tree after 738 days.
The agreement stated that Luna would remain standing alongside all other trees within a 200-foot radius.
However, the trees that have already been felled will remain Pacific Lumber’s property.
Pacific Lumber Company ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2007.
