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"Redwood Mary" Climbs An Oak Tree; Long-Time Forest Activist Joins Tree-Sitters in Berkeley 1-22-2007 For Immediate Release - Contact: Redwood Mary (cell in tree) 510-459-9448 Karen Pickett, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters office (510) 548-3113 Berkeley, Calif.-Forest activist Redwood Mary, known for her work in Mendocino County and on the international front, has joined tree-sitters in the oak grove in Berkeley threatened with destruction by the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). The oaks at the center of a raging controversy with opposition to their destruction growing by the day have been occupied by tree-sitters since Dec. 2, 2006. Three lawsuits against the university go to court Tuesday, Jan. 23 for an injunction on UCB's planned construction. Redwood Mary has for years been working from the local grassroots to the United Nations in her quest for forest protection, environmental justice and human rights. She has been a NGO delegate to several U.N. and WTO conferences and proceedings and is the Environmental Co-Chair For the California Women's Agenda. Her work has included close partnerships with Julia Butterfly Hill and the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development Non-Governmental International Women's Caucus, Global Exchange, Circle of Life, Kids Against Pollution, & Greenhouse Network Climate Education Project. As founder of the Plight of the Redwoods Campaign, Mary has inspired new generations of activists to take action in protecting the world's forests and creating earth friendly solutions. UCB plans to level most of the grove, located between Piedmont Avenue and Memorial Stadium, to build a $125 million athletic training facility, while proponents for the oaks cite viable alternative sites. The grove is the last significant stand of coast live oaks in the Berkeley lowlands, frequented by foxes, deer, raccoons, skunks and myriad species of birds and insects. With sudden oak death syndrome and development sprawl ravaging the oak population throughout California, this grove of healthy oaks, one 200 years old, is also important to the gene pool of coast live oaks in the area and is a key link in the urban-wildlands interface. Redwood Mary said from her perch about two stories up in the oak branches, "Today, cities consume 75 percent of the planet's natural resources and as urban populations grow, cities will continue to have a dramatic impact on the planet's resources. Every city in the world depends on natural systems -- and it takes the entire planet to satisfy sophisticated urban tastes and consumer desires. Here in Berkeley we are trying to do our part to protect our natural ecosystems." "I have taken to climbing one of these trees in this beautiful oak grove and join in solidarity with my community in Berkeley and students and staff at UCB who are opposed to the University's shortsighted vision to destroy these trees in order to build another building where so many other suitable sites exists where an ecosystem does not have to be destroyed. We have a law here in Berkeley against cutting these trees and looks like we have to enforce this law with our bodies." Redwood Mary is available for interviews via cell phone from the oak tree. ###  << Back to Press Release Archive | Latest Press Release | Newsroom Subscribe Get action alerts, updates, and other important news in your email inbox by signing up with your email address here: Learn more about events | See the BACHList FAQ |
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