Famed Environmental Activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill
to Speak at UNCA

Julia "Butterfly" Hill to Speak Feb. 27

UNC Asheville’s Active Students for a Healthy Environment will host an evening with famed environmental activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, in Lipinsky Auditorium. A book signing will immediately follow her talk. The event is free and open to the public but donations will be accepted at the door.

Hill drew international media attention in December 1997 when she climbed into a thousand-year-old redwood tree as a protest against the logging in California’s old-growth Headwaters Forest. Though this was her first political action, Hill remained in the tree for months, facing one of the state’s stormiest winters and harassment from lumber companies. After 738 days living at 180 feet, Hill descended and brokered a deal with Pacific Lumber/Maxxam Corp. to spare a the tree and create a three-acre buffer zone.

A member of the Ecology Hall of Fame, Hill now serves as founder and director of the environmental non-profit organization "The Circle of Life Foundation." She is author of "The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods" and the forthcoming book "One Makes the Difference: Inspiring Actions to Change Our World."

For more information, contact Candice Carr, UNCA student and ASHE co-chair, at 828/236-3834.

Media Contacts:

• Candice Carr, UNCA student and ASHE Co-Chair, 828/236-3834
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526