Julia "Butterfly" Hill

Born February 18, 1974

By Todd Drake

     Julia "Butterfly" Hill was born on Feb. 18, 1974 in Mount Vernon, Missouri. At age 5 she attended a private school in Harrisburg. Later she attended highschool in Jonesboro (Craighead County, Arkansas) at until 1990. After entering the University of Arkansas she graduated in 1991 after completing a remaining 1/2 year credit in English through correspondence. At the age of 20 she moved to Fayetteville (Washington County) in which she lived there for two years working in restaurants. A car accident in August of 1996 changed her life forever. After 10 months of intensive care involving physical and cognitive therapy she claimed that she had "found her calling in life". She went with her friends in June 1997 to see the rainforests on the Pacific coast. Later when she say the Redwood forests around Grizzly Creek State park she was determined to preserve them.

     In November of 1997 Julia Hill met with envrionmental activists in Humbolt County, California to partipate in "tree sitting" a non-violent protest involving a person sitting on top of some of the tallest trees to prevent logging. She operated in one of these forests, everyone was given code names for these protests, Julia Hill gave herself the name "butterfly".

Julia "Butterfly" Hill on Dec. 10 1997 climbed into a 55-meter (180 foot) tall Califonia Coast Redwood tree). The tree she climbed was nicknamed "Luna". She was to live in this massive tree for the next 2 years. She wanted to preserve the Redwood forest around Grizzly Creek state park. As weeks went by the nation was becoming more and more aware of Julia Hill, and of her tree sitting. The growing publicity was too much for Pacific Lumber Maxxam Corporation who were logging in the Red wood forests. Juila Hill climbed down the tree "Luna" on Dec. 18, 1999 after striking a deal with the Pacific Lumber Maxxam Corportation which spared the tree Luna and created a 3-acre buffer zone for the Redwood trees. By her seemingly small action of sitting in a tree, she drew public attention on logging trees and clear cutting. Today Lumber companies are not as reckless when cutting trees, some lumbering companies do selective cutting which involves the cutting of a certain number of trees at the same time, repeating the cycle after the trees have grown back. Julia "Butterfly" Hill also formed the Circle of Life Foundation which gave support to envrionment groups and communities to protect the envrionment.

     "Those things of real worth in life are worth going to any length in love and respect to safeguard"- Julia "Butterfly" Hill

This famous quote by Julia Hill can be interpreted that to her, she loved and respected Redwood trees and forests all over the world, and to her Redwood trees that were something priceless and invaluable and they were to be protected at any cost.

                                                                                                    Biblography

http://www.aces.edu/N4HFI/Forestry_Manuals/unitb4.pdf

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.butterflypictures.net/images/butterfly10.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.butterflypictures.net/10-butterfly-pictures.html&usg=__nxoA7x6H-4IGRSxh-8wy3m6Nc68=&h=301&w=400&sz=130&hl=en&start=21&um=1&tbnid=OZ9H4FxAjiutFM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbutterfly%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1

www.ecotopia.org/ehof/hill/index.html

www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encylopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2947