Tree sitting
Tree sitting is a form of civil disobedience in which a protester trespasses by sitting in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down (i.e. speculating that this will not be done because it would be very dangerous for the protester). Supporters may provide them with food and other necessary supplies.
Sitters have blocked logging of ancient forests for months at a time, in some instances convincing logging companies not to cut trees in some areas.
Sometimes logging companies will hire tree climbers to remove trespassers sitting in trees. While it is the companies legal right to do so, the tree climbers occassionally cause harm to the sitters that resist efforts to end their trespassing, and in one case resulted death.
Julia Butterfly Hill, known for her 738 day sit in a 180-foot, 600-year-old Redwood tree (which she named Luna), is perhaps the most famous tree-sitter.
Activists from Greenpeace and the Australian environmental organisation The Wilderness Society hold the record for the world's highest tree-sit, in the Styx Valley, Tasmania.
In 2002, two US environmental activists involved in tree-sitting protests died in seperate accidents.
Some elected officials, lumber companies, and advocates of property rights claim tree sitting is a form of eco-terrorism or ecotage.
See also
Compare with: tree spiking
