Meet Julia Butterfly Hill: The 23-year-old woman who climbed a 1,000-year-old tree and stayed there for 738 days to save it from being cut down
How Julia Butterfly Hill's 738-day tree protest began A protest that was meant to last only a few days What life was like nearly 180
How Julia Butterfly Hill's 738-day tree protest began A protest that was meant to last only a few days What life was like nearly 180 feet above the ground Storms, helicopters and constant pressure The agreement that finally saved Luna Luna survived another attack after the protest At 23, Julia Butterfly Hill climbed nearly 180 feet into the canopy of a towering 1,000-year-old redwood in northern California, expecting to spend only a few days there as part of an environmental protest. Instead, the ancient tree, known as Luna, became her home for the next 738 days. Living on two small wooden platforms suspended high above the forest floor, she endured violent storms, freezing temperatures, isolation and constant pressure from loggers, determined to stop the centuries-old giant from being cut down. Her remarkable act of courage became one of history's longest and most famous tree protests, helping save Luna and inspiring environmental activists around the world.Julia Butterfly Hill was born on February 18, 1974, in Mount Vernon, Missouri, but spent much of her childhood travelling across the United States because her father was an itinerant evangelical minister. Her unusual middle name came from a childhood hike during which a butterfly landed on her finger and stayed there until the walk ended.
Years later, after surviving a serious car accident caused by a drunk driver in 1996, Hill began questioning the direction of her life.During her recovery, she travelled to northern California, where she joined environmental activists trying to protect the region's ancient redwood forests from logging.When Hill volunteered to climb Luna on December 10, 1997, she expected to remain in the tree for only a few days as part of a rotating protest. But after spending time among the towering branches of the ancient redwood, she realised she could not leave while it remained under threat. What began as a brief act of civil disobedience gradually evolved into a 738-day mission that attracted global media attention and turned Luna into an international symbol of forest conservation.For more than two years, Luna became Hill's entire world. She lived on two small wooden platforms measuring roughly six by eight feet, protected only by tarps from rain, wind and snow. Volunteers on the ground hauled up food, drinking water, books, batteries and supplies using ropes. Solar panels powered her communication equipment, allowing her to give interviews to journalists from around the world without ever leaving the tree.She celebrated birthdays, Christmases and countless ordinary days in the canopy while sharing the forest with birds, squirrels and other wildlife.
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