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Julia Butterfly Hill, twenty-six, is a writer, a poet, and an activist. She helped found the Circle of Life Foundation
to promote the sustainability, restoration, and preservation of life. The foundation is sponsored by the nonprofit Trees Foundation,
which works toward the conservation and preservation of forest ecosystems. Hill has been the recipient of many honors and
awards, and is a frequent speaker for environmental conferences around the world.
On Dec. 10, 1997, a 23-year-old woman named Julia "Butterfly" Hill climbed into a 55-meter (180 foot) tall California
Coast Redwood tree. Her aim was to prevent the destruction of the tree and of the forest where it had lived for a millennium.
Her action epitomized the tradition of Mahatma Ghandi. She put her own life on the line to save the life of a forest that
was under immediate threat of destruction.
She came down December 18, 1999. During the two years she spent in her beloved tree, she attracted world-wide attention
for her non-violent action in defense of the forest. She went up the tree an unknown campaigner. She came down an international
symbol, the inspiration for thousands of people around the world. Her actions, both during her time in the tree and since
then, in her continuing efforts to heal the rift between humans and the natural environment, entitle her to be the youngest
person thus far inducted into the Ecology Hall of Fame.
Julia "Butterfly" Hill was born just plain Julia on February 18, 1974. Her young life nearly ended in 1996,
she suffered nearly fatal injuries in an auto accident. During close to a year of medical treatment and recovery, she had
time to reassess her purpose in life.. She recovered and, much like John Muir after his near-blinding at almost the same age,
she set off to travel.
She planned to visit the Far East, in search of enlightenment. But her route to the East lead her to the West Coast of
the U.S. where other young people were trying to prevent the destruction of one of the last remnants of the great redwood
forest that once stretched 650 kilometers (400 miles) from southern Oregon to the Big Sur coast, south of Monterey Bay, California.
On that December day in 1997, Julia climbed high into a thousand-year-old redwood tree she named Luna, and set up house
on a little platform high above the ground. Her aim was to prevent the destruction of the tree by making it impossible to
destroy the tree without killing her. Julia attracted little individual attention at first, which was fine with her. She wanted
to keep the spotlight on the destruction of the forest, just a remnant of the original old growth redwood forest. But after
a month, her name had started picking up a fair bit of attention on it's own. She broke what was supposedly the American record
for tree-sitting. Then, in the midst of one of the wettest, stormiest winters in living memory, she broke the 42-day world
record for tree-sitting. By the time she passed the 100-day mark, the world was increasingly aware that an exceptionally well-motivated
person was not simply "sitting" in a tree, she was 'living" there and plainly intended to continue living there
until her tree and it's forest were permanently protected from destruction.
Julia was one of hundreds of activists working to save the Headwaters Forest through a variety of non-violent tactics.
Most of them were involved in what they termed "cat and mouse" action. They would move into an area of the forest
where logging crews were active and confront the loggers directly, pleading with them to put down their tools and spare the
forest. Others, meanwhile, were continually moving through the forest, making it difficult for the loggers to know whether
it might be safe to cut a tree or if, by doing so, they might kill one of the protesters. On September 17, 1998, when Julia
was already an international celebrity for her residence in Luna, fellow protester David "Gypsy" Chain was killed
in such an incident. Timber company spokespeople said the loggers didn't know protesters were in the area at the time of Chain's
death. Fellow activists contradicted that claim. So far, nobody has been charged with any crime in connection with David Chain's
death. His mother has filed a wrongful death suit.
As the months went by, celebrities with ties to the environmental movement came to visit her, politicians talked with
her on her mobile phone, and the world's media made camp at the base of the tree to see what was going on and document her
life and her mission.
In her tree, she knew fear, and cold. Lumber company employees harassed her and tried to scare her down. Conservative
commentators belittled her action. Meanwhile, timber company officials were negotiating with state and Federal departments
to come up with a lasting solution to what was increasingly being seen as a crisis.
Through it all, Julia remained high above ground, becoming ever-closer to the kind of spiritual union that her father
had sought in his days as a preacher. She found her spiritual union high in the branches of the tree the whole world now knows
as Luna.
On December 18, 1999, seven hundred and thirty-eight days after she climbed into Luna's arms, she climbed down. She had
struck a deal with Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation to spare Luna and create a three-acre buffer zone.
Her two-year vigil informed the public that only 3% of the ancient redwood forests remain and that the Headwaters Forest
Agreement, brokered by state and federal agencies and Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corporation, will not adequately protect forests
and species.
Julia Butterfly Hill, came down to a world that recognized her as a heroine and powerful voice for the environment. Her
courage, commitment and profound clarity in articulating a message of hope, empowerment, love and respect for all life has
inspired millions of people worldwide. Julia reflects, "By standing together in unity, solidarity and love we will heal
the wounds in the earth and in each other. We can make a positive difference through our actions".
Julia Hill grew up in a deeply religious family as the daughter of a traveling, evangelical minister that later settled
in Arkansas. Julia has had the nickname "Butterfly" since she was a child. She got it when the family was taking
a hike one day and a butterfly landed on her and stayed with her the entire time. She has always been attracted to butterflies
and they have been a powerful symbol of going inside one's cocoon to emerge beautiful. Julia was home-schooled and started
taking college courses at age sixteen. She majored in business. Julia loves to cook and started her own restaurant at age
eighteen. She has been a vegetarian since she was a teenager and has been a vegan for the past few years. She also did some
modeling while growing up. Her first sight of the ancient redwoods overwhelmed her with awe. "When I entered the majestic
cathedral of the redwood forest for the first time, my spirit knew it had found what it was searching for. I dropped to my
knees and began to cry because I was so overwhelmed by the wisdom, energy and spirituality housed in this holiest of temples"...
'Report from Luna'
by Stuart Moskowitz, Sanctuary Forest
Four and a half years have passed since Julia climbed down from her two-year occupation of Luna. Three and a half years
have passed since a still-unknown vandal attacked Luna with a chain saw.
Even though time has passed, Luna stays in our thoughts and hearts. Calls, letters, and emails inquiring about Luna's
health continue coming to Circle of Life, Sanctuary Forest, and those of us closely involved with her care. Even The Pacific
Lumber Company regularly receives calls asking about Luna.
Sanctuary Forest is the Humboldt County land trust chosen by Julia to be trustee of the Luna Covenant. As trustee, Sanctuary
Forest is responsible in perpetuity for monitoring Luna's health and maintaining the agreement between Julia Butterfly and
Pacific Lumber. As a director on the Sanctuary Forest board, I make regular monthly trips to Luna.
In the beginning the visits to Luna were inspiring but uneventful. Then came the Thanksgiving 2000 chain saw attack. Instantly
I found myself at the center of structural, biological, and spiritual efforts to stabilize Luna. Literally overnight, a team
of volunteer arborists, engineers, tree climbers, and biologists came together and designed, manufactured, and installed steel
brackets to stabilize the cut. Over the next two months a steel cable "collar" and guy wires added more strength
to the stabilization efforts.
How to approach Luna's biological and spiritual health prompted much discussion between Julia, me, and our team of experts,
which now included a Cherokee Bear Medicine healer, Luna had a three-foot-deep cut that went more than half way around her
twelve-foot circumference. Only about 10 percent of her cambium layer remained intact. (The cambium takes nutrients from the
tree's roots up to its canopy.) We decided to pack the cut with clay gathered from a nearby natural deposit, we made the clay
into mud, mixing in bear saliva collected with help from a nearby zoo. Native American healers have long known of clay and
bear saliva as powerful healing agents. Dr. Steve Sillett, predicted that, because of Luna's injuries, she would die from
the top down. He expected that within two years Luna would begin to look like a dead snag. Nowadays, Luna looks as healthy
as she did before she was attacked. Each year Luna's branches glow with new spring growth from her base to the top of her
canopy! The scientists are puzzled. Could it be the Bear medicine? Could it be because Luna is in the hearts and prayers of
so many people around the world?
Winter storms blew fierce this year. During my last visit this February, I found numerous fallen limbs. I also discovered
the clay partially squeezed from the cut, evidence that Luna must have been swaying heavily in the wind. I'll be watching
her even closer this spring...
Julia, and her tree, Luna, stands as beacons of hope, showing that individuals and communities can speak out against corporate
irresponsibility. Luna reminds us to stand up for our own survival and for the future of our shared planet.
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