Tassie tree-sitter claims Australian record

10 Jul 2012, 3:10 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
3
Environmental activist Miranda Gibson will spend her 209th day in the canopy of Tasmania's Tyenna Valley forest. (AAP)

Environmental activist Miranda Gibson will spend her 209th day in the canopy of Tasmania's Tyenna Valley forest. (AAP)

Environmental activist Miranda Gibson has set an Australian record for a tree-sitting protest in defense of Tasmania's Tyenna Valley forests.

RELATED

An icy Tasmanian winter won't stop Miranda Gibson setting an Australian record for a tree-sitting protest.

Ms Gibson has reached 209 days perched 60m from the ground in the Tyenna Valley, in southern Tasmania, today.

Environmental group Still Wild Still Threatened says that betters the 208 days Manfred Stephens spent atop a tree near Cairns in 1995.

"There's not an official record-keeper of tree-sits but it's been documented that that's the longest one in Australia,"Ms Gibson told AAP.

The world record is regarded as the 738 days spent by Julia 'Butterfly' Hill in a California redwood forest between 1997-99.

"I've got a while to go for that one," Ms Gibson said. "I have actually had contact from Julia Butterfly Hill ... she contacted me to offer her support for what I'm doing."

Ms Gibson, a high school teacher who celebrated her 31st birthday on Sunday, has been living on a suspended platform in the eucalypt known as the "observer tree" since December 14.

She sleeps under a tarpaulin, constantly attached to the tree with a climbing rope for safety, and recently had her mum stay with her for a few nights.

A wireless internet connection and mobile phone help her beam her message out to the world.

"I update a blog about my life up here and what's going on with the forest and spend a lot of time contacting people around the world about what I'm doing," she said. "It actually keeps me quite busy."

She says the toughest part is knowing the forest nearby continues to be logged, although temperatures below freezing aren't much fun either.

"We have had quite a bit of snow since I've been up here," she said.

"It can be a bit challenging when the weather is really cold or raining a lot but I guess that's just one of the things that I'm prepared to deal with."

With a July 23 deadline in place for Tasmania's forest peace deal negotiators, Ms Gibson says she'll assess the details of any agreement before deciding whether to come down.

"I'm definitely committed to staying up here until we do see forest protection," she said.

Environment , Tasmania

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

I love your commitment !

karina - from Hawthorn East, Melbourne , 10 months ago

Without efforts like Miranda's people become complacent. Although I like to think that I am environmentally concious, it has been a while since I refreshed my knowledge on this issue. Thnx Miranda for bringing it back to me attention!

Miranda in Observer |Tree

Carol Rea - from Hobart, Tas, 11 months ago

Miranda is sitting in a tree in a coupe that was to be logged. It is part of the forest area assessed as high conservation value by an independent reference group that reported to the IGA signatories. Her actions have brought this issue to the media both national and international and the people of many countries. She recognises the efforts of the IGA process BUT since the moratorium on logging that was meant to occur last AUGUST never eventuated she has made this positive personal commitment.

Mr

Steve Martini - from launceston, 11 months ago

Hi Why is she sitting up the tree? What are the specific high conservation values of the forest in which she is sitting? Why doesn't she and the environmental group she represents respect the current IGA process and negotiation?

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.