Woman Living in Tree for Two Years Redefines How to Survive in the Outdoors

Of course, Julia had to learn a ton of new skills to survive this unique lifestyle. But the reason why she was doing it made it all worth it.

Understandably, the battle was not easy. She was fighting against big corporations behind these loggers, which made the battle all the more dangerous for her. She was intimidated not only by efforts on the ground but from the air above her. But she refused to be bullied.

But she understood the risks and created an entire lifestyle that allowed her to survive despite the risks. Her passion for her advocacy also pushed her to go on despite the odds.

Using solar power, she was still able to do interviews and continued to speak on cable TV to get more people interested in her cause. Because of this amazing effort, Luna, the tree she lived in and fought so hard to protect, still stands to this very day.

Julia was born in Missouri in 1974 to a family who moved around a lot. Her father was a minister, so they lived in a camper to make traveling from church to church easier. She was seven years old when a butterfly suddenly decided to land on her, which made her parents think it was the perfect nickname. 

Julia also worked hard, so it wasn’t surprising when she eventually became the restaurant manager. Things were looking up for her career-wise, but her life took a sudden turn when she almost died in a car accident in 1996 when she was 22 years old.

The accident awakened a fire within Julia. She was given a new lease on life and knew she had to do better this time. She felt that she had to find her real purpose in life. She realized that there was so much more she could do.

The land they were clearing was filled with majestic trees that were there even before the locals were born. But the loggers didn’t care how old those trees were and what kind of contribution they gave to the community around them.

But environmental experts knew better. Clearing huge parcels of land at a time means that the creatures in the area would have nowhere to go. It also has a bigger impact on climate change. So the loggers might find it more profitable, but its environmental costs are too high.

That’s why loggers still stood their ground and prepared to cut the majestic redwoods, some of them aged almost 1000 years old. The people fighting for the environment desperately needed to find a way to stop them before they started destroying precious parts of the redwood forest. 

The activists built platforms on the trees where they stood and protested. Although this was effective, Julia knew that this was not only dangerous but also time and energy-consuming for everyone involved. They had to find a better way of protesting effectively; otherwise, they would run out of volunteers.

Some of the activists weren’t sure if Julia could pull it off, though. After all, she was new to this. But Julia was insistent, and the group knew they didn’t really have anybody else to send up to the canopy that was built into the tree.

It was December 10, 1997, when Julia climbed up Luna, the 1000-year-old tree where the makeshift canopy had been built. Julia started to make herself comfortable and looked forward to the entire week ahead. Little did she know that this marked the start of her legacy.

Because the tree was unbelievably high, it took some time before Julia finally reached the platform. Once she got there, she was already tired and just wanted to get some rest. So she removed the harness and started to settle down.

Eventually, news of Julia’s efforts started to spread, and she gained the full support of a group called Earth First. They were in awe of Julia’s stay on that 6×4-foot platform and regularly sent help to Julia’s tree home, found 180 feet from the ground.

What was amazing was the fact that she still found a way to connect with the outside world and make media appearances. She accepted invitations for interviews and was bravely speaking up about how Pacific Lumber’s logging had been affecting the community and the natural flora and fauna around Humboldt County.

All she had was a tarpaulin and a sleeping bag, plus a few other extra supplies. She had to sit there through storms, as well as hot, cold, wet, and dry weather. This made Julia’s resolve even more admirable.

The logging company sent people in helicopters, terrorizing Julia with their loudspeakers and floodlights. This made her life even more dangerous, and anybody could have thrown in the towel. But Julia was stronger than that, and her passion was not something that easily wavered.

She knew that the other activists wouldn’t hold it against her if she suddenly gave up the cause and ran toward safety. But she wouldn’t have it. This cause was too important for her to give up. So she continued to strengthen herself physically and mentally and prepared for more.

One example of her ingenuity was the way she used the tree’s sap. She discovered that it made her feet stickier and less likely to slip and fall. So she decided only to wash her feet every so often so that the sap would accumulate on her soles.

Eventually, she learned how to adjust to these conditions. She had even gotten used to using a bucket instead of looking for a toilet. Meanwhile, her fight continued to gain global attention.

So PL announced that they would leave Luna alone. The logging company also vowed to stop clear-cutting, especially around the area, creating a buffer zone of 200 feet around the 1000-year-old tree. This was a huge win, knowing that the zone covered hundreds of trees almost as old as Luna.

Because of Julia’s incredible feat, she was asked to fly to New York barely two days after leaving her treetop home. She was scheduled to appear in front of the press to talk about the battle she had just won. She was an instant celebrity, something that she never thought would happen.

But Julia went on to become one of the most admired environmentalists of all time. This life-changing experience even pushed her to become a motivational speaker who helped others take action to fight for their own causes. She had truly gone a long way from being a simple girl from Jonesboro.

Sanctuary Forest was established 20 years before Julia’s battle against Pacific Lumber. At the time, it was a small project that aimed to protect a 2000-year-old redwood tree named Big Red. This is why it was only fitting that Sanctuary Forest also took charge of the majestic tree that Julia saved.

In November 2020, the organization discovered that Luna had been vandalized. It horrified the environmental community, knowing how much work had been put into preserving the ancient tree. Vandals had left a huge gash in its trunk, threatening its health. 

The problem was Humboldt County is known to be regularly in the path of some ferocious storms. They needed to find a way to save Luna before the next big storm came through. So a team of arborists and scientists put their heads together and find ways to save Luna.

Within 24 hours, everyone pitching in had installed a massive wen of steel supports that served as a brace for Luna. It was a fantastic feat for the whole team, showing that nature is always a good motivator that can push anyone to take action. 

Steve is a civil engineer from Eureka, just a short distance away. He designed a series of steel reinforcement cables to help anchor Luna to the ground, giving Luna even better stability. 

For now, the public is discouraged from visiting Luna to keep the redwood safe and healthy and to avoid disturbing the thriving biological community around it. The forest still sees new growth, which shows that all the efforts to save Luna and the redwoods around it were not in vain. Luna could be compared to Julia in a way–they are both survivors.

This time, the protest was in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. This time, they were fighting against the pipeline that the giant oil firm Occidental Petroleum had built in the middle of what used to be a lush natural environment. This fight caused Julia to land herself in jail.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Julia described the forest as stunning. It was home to different species of birds, insects, and other animals. The plants there were also lush and colorful, winding through the thick moss that covered most of the surface. It was indeed a magical place.

Of course, the huge oil company was protected by people who had immense power in the country. This meant that their protests fell on deaf ears. But it wasn’t long before the real destruction started to gain wider coverage, which meant that the people in charge also became uncomfortable with the attention.

Ecuador’s then-president, Gustavo Noboa, called Julia crazy. She was eventually thrown out of the country. She did, however, vow to continue the fight from overseas. To this day, different groups continue to fight against the concerned parties as the pipeline continues to wreck the Amazon.

The war in Iraq was going on back then, and Julia believed it was not the right way to use people’s taxes. So she started to participate in a practice called tax redirection, where she refused to pay taxes but donated the same amount to different environmental and social organizations. This way, she knew that her money was being put to good use and not just to expenses the government thought were more important.

Julia further emphasized that she didn’t think the IRS was using the money for the good of the people paying them. Of course, this was not the first time that people had fought against the IRS. 

While Julia was fighting these new causes, she also kept in touch with the people fighting to protect the redwoods in California. Despite President Joe Biden signing a protection order in April 2022, there are still active attempts to remove all protection in place and allow logging companies to enter the protected area. 

Even The Simpsons had an episode inspired by Julia, with Lisa Simpson staging her own protest by tree-sitting. This shows that despite opposition, she has a healthy amount of support from different sectors all over the world.

Julia prefers being known as someone who cares about the world deeply and as someone willing to take risks. She wants to be known as someone who fights to make the world a better place.

Today, Julia maintains a blog and offers life coaching services through her website. She also sells her books through the same site and has made some of her Vegan recipes available for download.