Julia Butterfly Hill


Julia Lorraine Hill is an American environmental activist and tax redirection advocate. She is best known for having lived in a -tall, roughly 1500-year-old California redwood tree for 738 days between December 10, 1997 and December 18, 1999. Hill lived in the tree, affectionately known as Luna, to prevent Pacific Lumber Company loggers from cutting it down. She is the author of the 2000 book The Legacy of Luna and co-author of One Makes the Difference.

Early life

Hill's father was a traveling minister who went from town to town, bringing his family with him. Until she was about ten years old, Hill lived in a camper with her father Dale, mother Kathy, and brothers Mike and Dan. Julia is the middle child. While traveling with her family, Hill often explored rivers by campgrounds. When Hill was seven years old, she and her family were taking a hike one day when a butterfly landed on her finger and stayed with her for the duration of the hike. From that day on, her nickname became "Butterfly". She decided to use that as her nickname for the rest of her life.
When Hill was in middle school, her family stopped traveling and settled in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In August 1996, at age 22, Hill suffered a near-fatal car crash. At the time, Hill was acting as the designated driver for a friend who had been drinking. Her friend's car was hit from behind by a drunk driver. The steering wheel of the car penetrated Hill's skull. It took almost a year of intensive therapy before she regained the ability to speak and walk normally. She said:
Hill embarked on a spiritual quest afterwards, leading her to the environmental cause opposed to the destruction of the redwood forests in Humboldt County, California.

Tree sit

After recuperating from her accident, Hill took a road trip to California and attended a reggae fundraiser to save the forests. A group of "front-liners" had been rotating tree sitters in and out of giant redwoods in Humboldt County every couple days to stave off Pacific Lumber Co. loggers who were clear-cutting. Organizers wanted someone to stay in the tree one week. "Nobody else would volunteer so they had to pick me", said Hill.
Originally, Hill was not officially affiliated with any environmental organization, deciding by herself to undertake civil disobedience. Soon, Hill was actively supported by Earth First!, among other organizations, and by volunteers.
On December 10, 1997, Hill ascended the redwood tree Luna.
Hill lived on two platforms for 738 days. Luna's trunk was her sidewalk and exercise treadmill. Hill learned many survival skills while living in Luna, such as "seldom washing the soles of her feet, because the sap helped her feet stick to the branches better." Hill used solar-powered cell phones for radio interviews, became an "in-tree" correspondent for a cable television show, and hosted TV crews to protest old-growth clear cutting. With ropes, Hill hoisted up survival supplies brought by an eight-member support crew. To keep warm, Hill wrapped herself tight in a sleeping bag, leaving only a small hole for breathing. For meals, Hill used a single-burner propane stove. Throughout her ordeal, Hill weathered freezing rains and winds from El Niño, helicopter harassment, a ten-day siege by company security guards, and attempted intimidation by angry loggers.
A resolution was reached in 1999 when the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to preserve Luna and all trees within a buffer zone. In exchange, Hill agreed to vacate the tree. In addition, the $50,000 that Hill and other activists raised during the cause was given to the logging company, as stipulated by the resolution. The $50,000 Earth First! paid to Pacific Lumber was then donated to Humboldt State University as part of the agreement for research into sustainable forestry.
Vandals later cut the tree with a chainsaw. A gash in the -tall redwood was discovered in November 2000 by one of Hill's supporters. Observers at the scene said the cut measured deep and around the base, somewhat less than half the circumference of the tree. The gash was treated with a herbal remedy, and the tree was stabilized with steel cables. As of spring 2007, the tree was doing well with new growth each year. Caretakers routinely climb the tree to check its condition and to maintain the steel guywires.

Post-tree sit

Since her tree sit, Hill has become a motivational speaker, a best-selling author, and the co-founder of the Circle of Life Foundation and the Engage Network, a nonprofit that trains small groups of civic leaders to work toward social change.

Ecuador oil pipeline protest

On July 16, 2002, Hill was jailed in Quito, Ecuador, outside the offices of Occidental Petroleum, for protesting a proposed oil pipeline that would penetrate a virgin Andean cloud forest that teems with rare birds. "The cloud forest is stunning," said Hill. "It's this deep, lush green, spangled with explosions of red, yellow and purple from the flowers, birds and insects. But the environmental destruction we saw along the pipelines that had already been built was horrendous." Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa commented: "The little gringos have been arrested, including the old cockatoo who climbs trees." Hill was later deported from Ecuador.

Tax redirection

In 2003, Hill became a proponent of tax redirection, resisting payment of about $150,000 in federal taxes, donating that money to after-school programs, arts and cultural programs, community gardens, programs for Native Americans, alternatives to incarceration, and environmental protection programs. She said:

Farm sale protest

In 2006, Hill protested the sale of the South Central Farm in an attempt to save the farm from developers.

Looking forward

In an April 2009 interview, Hill pondered what would come next for her:

Popular culture

Hill has been the subject of several documentaries, interviews, and books, including her own 2000 memoir The Legacy of Luna, and has influenced numerous musicians.
On December 10, 1998, a benefit concert was played at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, California, during Julia's "tree sit". Artists performing were Bob Weir and Mark Karan as an acoustic duet, the Steve Kimock Band, and the Mickey Hart Band. Hill took part in the event, reading her poem "Luna" via telephone while the Mickey Hart Band was performing "The Dancing Sorcerer".
The character Sierra Tierwater in the 2000 novel A Friend of the Earth by T. Coraghessan Boyle was partially inspired by Hill.
Hill was the subject of the documentary Butterfly broadcast on PBS POV. She is also featured in the documentary film Tree-Sit: The Art of Resistance. Both films document her time in the redwood tree.
The 2000 twelfth-season episode of The Simpsons called "Lisa the Tree Hugger" was conceived when writer Matt Selman heard a news story about Hill.
In Penn & Teller's 2003 first season of their documentary television show,, Hill was interviewed and her motivations were questioned by Penn Jillette and Patrick Moore, an early member of Greenpeace.
A film adaptation of The Legacy of Luna, to be directed by Laurie Collyer and star Rachel Weisz, became stuck in development hell, although Weisz actively worked towards getting the project off the ground.
The main character of the 2017 Swedish children's book Julia räddar skogen by Niklas Hill and Anna Palmqvist is named after Hill. The book is about a child who occupies a tree in order to hinder the construction of a new highway.
The character Olivia Vandergriff in Richard Powers’ 2018 novel, The Overstory, is loosely based on Hill.

Music