Redwoods are old trees. Many people have great respect for these trees. For this reason, when one of them tried to cut off stucco in 1997, a woman protested. He didn’t just raise his voice in protest. He took the sequoia defense to another level. Today we’re going to talk about Julia Hill, the woman who lived on a 1,500 year old redwood for two years. To defend them.
Defense to death
It happened in California. This is where the redwoods come from and they reach 75 meters high. The trunks reach a diameter of nine meters. A logging company felled the redwoods in the area. An environmental group protested against this practice. Julia Hill volunteered. He offered to live in the tree for a few days to attract attention. On December 10, 1997, he climbed a 55 meter high tree. He christened the redwood: “Moon.”
Julia tells it herself. You are tied to a climbing rope. You use your hands and feet to slowly climb the tree. At about 25 meters up, I made the mistake of looking down. I panicked and was paralyzed.
Julia’s house in the tree was a platform eight feet by one and a half feet. The days grew longer. Weeks, months, a year passed. He was able to assemble a second platform. It was protected under a plastic sheet. His bed was reduced to a sleeping bag and the food was carried with a rope.
He used a phone that ran on solar energy. The media interviewed them. But when it was time to face the bad weather, she was completely alone.
«It was very damp and cold. Even with the plastic screen that served as my ceiling and walls. The fog came in and the rain found small holes through which it could drip from the branches onto the platform, ”she said. It withstood storms with wind speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour, freezing rain and hail. “I developed myself as a person through that experience,” he said.
Fight the elements
They tried different ways to hold them down. They cut off their supplies and groceries. They honk loudly day and night. There were moments of doubt when she almost gave up. “I am human. There were times when I said,“ I can’t take it anymore. ”Moments when I cried,“ he confessed.
Julia’s impressive two-year protest attracted attention across the state. They dedicated several songs to him. On December 18, 1999, Julia’s protest ended for good. An agreement had been reached with the timber company.
Julia and the other activists had managed to raise $ 50,000. They paid the logger to save the tree and an area of around 12,000 square feet. Cameras captured the dramatic moment when the woman who lived on a redwood tree for two years came down with tears.
Julia Hill believes in the impact of her actions in protecting one of the natural treasures of California and the world. His activism didn’t end there. He was a co-founder of the Circle of Life Foundation. It advocates the transformation of human interactions with nature.
He wrote a book based on his experience of occupying trees. It is titled “Luna Legacy: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods”. There is no doubt that activism is a passion that is passionately lived for this woman.
