'Butterfly' reveals motives, beliefs

By Chan Tran
Daily Forty-Niner

"Tree hugger," "New Age guru," "crazy," "fluffy" and "frou-frou" are many of the names Julia "Butterfly" Hill has heard since she decided to live in a 1,000-year-old redwood tree for 738 days.

She accepts all of them.

During a speech to about 250 people in the University Student Union's small auditorium Tuesday, Hill, 26, did not shy away from people's negative perception of her. Instead, she used them to her advantage.

"People are so intent on labels," Hill said. "I want people to leave here with a sense of empowerment on yourself."

Media coverage has primarily focused on Hill's tree life when she lived 180 feet high in the branches of a redwood on a six-by-six foot tarpoleon-covered platform. Articles and interviews have catered to facts pertaining to her survival technique, not bothering to understand the origin of Hill's obsession with saving the redwood trees.

Hill, who was barefoot during the speech, highlighted details of her life not usually covered in the press, starting with her gypsy-like religious childhood.

"My father was a traveling preacher and we traveled with a 31-foot camper trailer," Hill said. "We were either in church or on the road."

The religious upbringing sheltered Hill from experiencing problems in the world not connected to God. She was also taught to feel shame for not having enough material wealth, a fact that did not help when she wore hand-me-down clothes and lived on oatmeal.

As a result, Hill went in the mental opposite direction of her parents, graduating from high school at 16 and obtaining a business degree before starting a restaurant career. She wanted "to make money and have kids out on the porch."

But in August of 1996, a car accident caused Hill to lose part of her short-term memory and motor skills. The accident, which took 10 months of recovery, made her re-evaluate her life.

"I figured if I can't even hold a glass how can I go back and be successful," Hill said.

In light of the situation, Hill decided she would "travel around the world and learn from different cultures and religions." Her possessions amounted to a backpack, tent and a stove.

She only made it to the redwoods of California.

"They touched me unlike any malls, cars, make-up and magazines," said Hill, who brought the audience to laughter by simulating the first time she hugged a redwood. "It was spiritual level that no cathedral, church or money could touch in me."

She embarked on a crusade to save the redwoods, which lead to her two-year stint in a redwood tree called Luna and becoming the butt of most hippie tree-hugging jokes.

"I could literally hear people's eyes rolling," said Hill of the initial phone responses she got. "I kept hearing 'we have enough homeless hippies'."

For two years, she was one of the most widely known activists in the world, conducting hundreds of interviews and bringing curiosity to those unfamiliar with her situation.

Hill's speech continues the Odyssey project's series of guest speakers on campus, representing the theme "The Future: Values and Technology in a Global Community."

Hill was chosen as a guest speaker because of her values and the way her views showcases technology's affects on society, said Sharon Olson, director of university academic projects.

"She has very passionate individual beliefs and a lot of concern for our environment," Olson said. "Tree issues might be more general, but it may affect the modern world in the future."
 
Hill asked the audience to stand up and stretch before starting but it was her animated personality that invigorated the weary crowd, many of whom had to be there for a class assignment.

Upon addressing her reasoning for taking a dramatic stance on redwood issues instead of leaving it alone Hill said, "inactions are just as shaping as the actions of others."

Caroline Limuti/Daily Forty-Niner

Julia "Butterfly" Hill speaks about her tree sitting experiences. She spoke in University Student Union's small auditorium Tuesday.