Guest Blog: Kat Lyons and Super-Possum
I first met activists from Still Wild Still Threatened while at Climate Camp in Aotearoa/ New Zealand in 2009. Camp Florentine was already four years old by the time I first visited in 2010 and became involved in the southern forests campaign. Now it’s May 2012 and it’s still there; and Miranda has been holding out up in the Observertree for over five months already. Through all the vagaries of Tasmanian weather. Throughs tate promises made and broken.
The idea for ‘Superpossum Saves the Day!’was conceived one evening with a friend in one of those ‘..wouldn’t it be great if…!” moments. We filmed it at the recent Camp Floz skillshare and community open weekend during one of the brief sunny spells and in between the intermittent hailstorms. An extremely silly time was had by all,though we had to use a stunt double to play Superpossum at camp, as Miranda obviously couldn’t come down from the Observertree.
But this is a silly film about a serious subject. We shouldn’t have to still be campaigning. We should have been able to pack down Camp Floz months ago and the Observertree should never have needed to be built. Every week that passes means another part of this irreplaceable ecosystem falls into the teeth of commerce and machinery. But we will not just sit back and let these forests go quietly. We will continue to raise awareness of their plight and the companies responsible for this, and agitate for permanent protection. And where necessary we will continue to put ourselves between the forests and their destruction. If I was wearing a hat right now I’d take it off to Miranda because I know I couldn’t do what she is doing. But just like she says in the film, we all need to work together on this. Not everyone has the ability or inclination to live in a tree sit, but there are many ways to be a Superpossum. So join the cyber action (click HERE), tell your friends and colleagues about what’s happening, encourage people to follow Miranda in her Observertree blog, write letters, donate or get involved in local campaigning groups such as Still Wild Still Threatened and The Huon Valley Environment Centre. It’s a big problem but we all need to just do what we can, because it’s too important for us not to win this one.
Guest Blog Bio: Kat Lyons
Kat has been part of the southern forests campaign since she arrived in Tasmania in 2010. This is her first film.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 165
You might find it hard to believe, I know, but I’ll tell you it’s true: I didn’t panic, I didn’t even feel scared. That’s right, this morning as I opened my eyes to the day and saw a spider crawling out from inside my swag, and making it’s away across the pillow…. I remained uncannily calm. Now you may well know by now that spiders have been a great challenge for me in my tree top life. And I think today marks a momentous occasion… I am finally getting used to them. And in turn, perhaps this says something about my changing relationship to the environment I am now a part of. Only a few mornings ago I was marvelling at the brilliance of a silvery spider-web, glistening with dew-drops in the misty morning. And I began to think about how beautiful these creatures are. I mean, the delicate spider web strung just out of reach from my platform is a long way for the encroaching presence of spiders crawling in my bed in the dark of the night… but still, it made me appreciate them in a new light.
The other day when I was sitting typing a message on my phone, a little eucalyptus beetle crawled onto the screen. It made its slow way across the keys as I waited patiently for it to move out-of-the-way of the one I needed to press. As I typed my long, detailed message, the beetle went on a journey of discovery around my phone, onto my hand, back onto the phone, and again on my hand. It made me smile. I felt as though I was in a cartoon, where this moment would symbolise the fact that I have been in this tree for a long time…. You can imagine the scene now, I am sitting very still at the top of the tree, unflinching as beetles and bugs crawl over me, maybe even a vine has started growing around my foot! Well, it’s not quite like that! But the interplay between beetle and mobile phone seemed to epitomise my current situation, with it’s interesting combination of being comfortable with both technology and nature.
Speaking of cartoons…. Have you ever noticed how if they want to illustrate that someone is up very high this is done by having a bird fly gracefully past. Imagine a situation where someone’s house is floating up into the sky and they look out the window and see nothing but blue sky, a few clouds, and a bird flying by at eye level. Well, this is exactly what it was like for me when I was talking on the phone and I looked out my “window” and at that very moment three yellow-tailed black cockatoos were making their way right past me at eye level. Their wings gracefully moving up and down. Did I almost notice one looking at me and catch my eye?
Perhaps I am becoming more connected to nature up here. But there are some things that I become less connected to. And one of those things is mud. I realised that today when I had visitors to my platform. And they brought with them mud, contaminating my clean white platform with their ground-dwelling dirt! It has been raining heavily the last few days and the ground below has apparently become quiet muddy. These are things you forget about when you live in a tree. I had to make a “boots off” policy for when guests cross the line between my “deck” and “indoors” … to at least keep my bedroom clean! But it sure did have me reminiscing about life downstairs! I imagined what it would be like to stand on the ground again. The forest floor beneath my boots squelching with mud. The springiness of the moss-covered ground. I imagined what it’s like to have to step up and over logs, to walk on the uneven surface. Up hills, down hills, putting one foot in front of another over and over again…. (I think about four steps is the limit up here before you have to turn around and pace back the other way). I imagined walking through the streets in Hobart, the feeling of the footpath beneath my shoes. I imagined taking my shoes off and walking on soft grass. It’s almost hard to believe that I haven’t put my feet on the ground in so long. Sometimes I peer over the edge and see it there. It’s 60 meters away, which in the scheme of things is not really that far. Yet for me it feels so distant because I cannot go there, have not been there in five and a half months. I’ve made the commitment to stay in this tree until the forest is protected, and I am absolutely determined to continue to with my tree top vigil for as long as this takes. There are things I miss about walking on the ground (though muddy boots isn’t really one of those things). However, I do not want to put my feet on the forest floor below me until I know that this tree and the forest around it will be protected now and into the future.
And that’s where you come in… because the more people who get on board the sooner we can make it happen. Every day that passes is another day in which high conservation value forests across Tasmania are being lost. Please take a moment to sign the cyber action, sending a message to the corporate customers of Ta Ann. Let them know that you, like me, want to see these forests safe from logging.
Miranda
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 161
I couldn’t help feeling worried, looking into it’s small eyes seen through a camera’s lense. A cute and curious pademelon, checking out one of our fauna cameras. (Filmed close to the base of my tree). But all I could think of was the sound of gun-fire I’d heard over and over again the other night. All I could think is that I hope they didn’t spot her. I hope she didn’t hop out into the brightness of their lights. I hope she didnt make the fatal mistake of wandering into a clearfell.
You might have been wondering when I wrote about the animal shootings that happen here, why do they do it? Is it for food? Sport? Population control? No. . Is it for economic gain for the forestry industry? Yes. After clearfelling and burning the native forest (forcing animals out of their homes and killing countless more in the process) the industry comes back in for another round of destruciton.
Every seedling that sprouts up through the ashes of a clearfell is, in the eyes of the forestry industry, money. Each one represents a tree of the future, to be chopped down and sold to make money in about 80 years time. And since, in the eyes of Forestry, each one is their property, I guess they feel the right to defend them at gun-point.
“Forestry Tasmania conducts animal culling operations in State forests to control the effects of mammal browsing on tree seedlings. Brushtail possums, Bennets wallabies and Tasmanian pademelons (rufous wallabies) are trapped and shot under permit for this purpose” (State of the Environment Report 2009)
It seems like a cruel trap for the poor pademelons. The industry has created an occurance that is unusual in the natural forest, a entire field of sprouting seedlings. The pademelons probably can’t believe their luck when they stumble across such a sight while hoping through the forest. And quickly settle in to have a good hearty meal. In the natural world, Pademelons munching on newly growing trees wouldn’t be a problem. There is a balance to the forest, so that if some young plants get eaten, there are others that will survive and grow to be old trees. But the world of Forestry Tasmania is not like the natural world.
In one year, by FT’s estimates over 15,000 “coupe visits” (as they called it) occured. Based on Forestry Tasmaina’s documentation almost 18,000 native animals are culled during a three month period. The slaughter of these animals is what Forestry Tasmania call “browsing managment” and its purpose is to ensure a lucrative crop of regrowth from which they can make money in the years to come. In the natural cycle of the forest animals do not need to die on this large scale in order for the forest to regenerate.
As I try to sleep on the killing nights, I think about the irony of the words that the industry use to frame the debate around forests. Everyone is talking about “peace” in the forest. But what they are referring to is us, those who care about the forest. That somehow when we try to take a stand to protect these ecosystems we are creating conflict. They can twist and obscure the meaning of the word “peace” all they like, but as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. As I sit quietly in my tree and listen to the sounds of gunfire; it’s like a war zone out there. Search lights flashing across the sky, gun shots being fired. There is no peace in the forest, and it isn’t becuase I am sitting in this tree, and it isn’t becuase people reading this blog are signing the cyber action. Its because the industry has refused a cease-fire. They have continued to kill and destroy everyday while the negotations have continued.
I hope that one day soon there will be peace in these forests.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 159
It’s been an interesting week in Tasmania. With the forest negotiations back in full swing now that the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT) have re-entered the talks. The talks have been stalled for a while now with FIAT refusing to engage and scapegoating environmentalists, blaming us for their decision not to be involved. At last they must have realised that the future of the industry is going nowhere without forest protection. It is clear products in the global marketplace that have come from the destruction of Tasmania’s precious forests will not be viable in the long-term. The industry needs a resolution too, because it needs to move forward out of native forest destruction for its own sake.
Meanwhile, as the talks continue the forests are still under threat. Without interim protection of a moratorium (due well over a year ago and never implemented) or a conservation agreement (due 9 months ago, never fully implemented) the very forests they are discussing are being lost everyday. And meanwhile, as the talks continue, Ta Ann are still misleading their customers in the international market, claiming to be selling “eco wood.” Just recently an article appeared in the Malaysian Star where Ta Ann were quoted as saying “the timber is from managed regrowth forests or from pruned plantations.” There is clear and documented evidence that Ta Ann’s wood supply demands are the key driver behind destruction of high conservation value, world heritage value and old growth forests and that these forests continue to be logged despite the negotiation process.
This is why I believe that now more than ever we need to keep the pressure up in order to ensure that this process does deliver forest protection. Now is the time, in the next few weeks to make sure that those involved in the talks and Ta Ann know the absolute necessity of protecting the forests and transitioning the industry out of native forest destruction. If you haven’t already signed the cyber action, please do and share it around.
As I started to imagine what it might be like if there is a positive outcome and forest protection delivered soon…. This got me to imagining what it would be like to get down out of the tree! What would it be like to put my feet on the ground again? I started to imagine the things I might do (have a long hot bath) , the people I might see (my Mum), the places I might go! Prehaps not a good idea… I think my sanity relies on taking every day as it is up here. Not thinking about the future, not imagining all the things I might do when I get back to the ground. Just accepting each day for what it is. Because I don’t know how long it will be till I get down. I can’t make any plans for the future. It seems strange to look into the future and see so much uncertainty… it could be soon, but what if there is no outcome that results in forest protection? What then? In this way I am connected to the forests even more than ever, because like me the forests must wait in a time of uncertainty. The wedge tail eagles, the Tasmanian devils, the spot tail quolls, they must all wait while their futures are decided. Will they be safe and secure for the future? Will the baby devil here have babies growing up in the same den that it was born in? Or will its den be lost forever? I wait and the forest waits.
Imagine what it will mean for Tasmania if the forests are protected? Imagine what it will mean for all of these places that remain… the pristine untouched forests that have been evolving for hundreds of thousands of years. These areas that are marked for logging, that are waiting on death-row… they will be free to survive into the future, indefinitely, permanently. Imagine what it will mean for the animals. The ones whose fate is held in the balance right now. Who may end up trapped under log-loaders, who may be left homeless, the ones who may face the firing squad as they innocently munch on seedlings in a clearfell. They do not know that this is the future that may await them. I hope that they will never know it. I hope they can go about their lives in peace and they will never know that they were on the brink of death, perhaps on the brink of extinction. I hope….
But I guess for their sakes we have to do more than hope. We have to do everything in our power to make sure that we create a future for Tasmania’s forests and wildlife. These next few weeks could be critical in terms of locking in a solution that is good for the forests, or not. Please get on board, let’s do everything we can, for the sake of those devils and pademelons who cannot speak for themselves.
Please help protect Tasmania’s precious forests.
Click HERE to sign the online action.
Guest Blog: Alan Lesheim
Writing this blog has not come easy to me; as a career photographer for over 40 years now I’m more used to recording things through the viewfinder of a camera than writing words. The immediate thought of simply providing a slide show of forest photographs that I have taken in the forests near the ObserverTree over the past seven years did seem the logical thing to do, but there are speciality photographers who do this sort of thing better than I, and the alternative of writing another piece on the uniqueness of Tassie’s old forests has also been done by far better wordsmiths than I’ll ever be.
However, as a photographer whose training involved the the art of observation, and whose interests and work involve the visual historic record to a large degree, I thought perhaps a piece about and including some photographs of Miranda and her dedication to the cause she promotes with such tenacity might be of interest.
On realising that Tasmania was slowly losing the integrity of its old growth forests and their attendant ecosystems to commercial exploitation after I moved here in the mid 1990’s, I started taking “before” photographs of these places as much as anything simply to contribute to the visual record of what existed before being logged and replanted with eucalyptus trees. In fact, doing the sort of thing that has pretty much defined photography and photographers since the very beginnings of the art in the late 1830’s.
In doing so my path crossed with the early protest blockade in the Upper Florentine in mid-2007, where seeking interesting people as subjects for an entry in the National Photographic Portrait Prize had as a consequence introduced me to the then almost untouched forests of the Upper Florentine. Looking back through my photographs taken during my almost weekly visits to the area since then, I came across the first one in which a shy and quiet Miranda appeared, dressed in a white wind cheater hoodie and seated by the fire on an unseasonably cold and wet January day at the early protest camp in 2008. At the time there was nothing to blip my radar as to the focused campaigner lying within, though as winter approached I noticed that she appeared more often in my photographs, such as this one taken inside the hut that had by then been finished on the spot that the first photo was taken.
Later that year she certainly drew my attention by routinely having over-nighted in her treesit “Frontie” whenever I arrived in the early morning to walk in and photograph the forests marked for logging. An earlier view of “Frontie:
More often than not she’d still be up there when I left in the evening. This certainly struck me as a rare dedication, as winter in the Upper Florentine is not exactly tropical resort weather, and spending night after night and most of the days 40 metres up a tree on a wooden platform with no heating would certainly be no picnic, as apart from the constant cold, damp atmosphere there was sometimes snow and often wind and constant, driving rain. However from time to time she still appeared in my photos.
In that time she has also co-authored a book Flora and Fauna Guide to the Upper Florentine Valley with Lily Leahy, which is now simply a must-have for anyone who walks off-track in the area. Here the two are at the book launch in February 2010.
My photography by preference tends mostly to deal with history, people and the environment in general rather than political or confrontational issues, and so the greater part of what I have photographed around the protest area tends to show the simple day-to-day happenings rather than the extremely rare confrontations, which perhaps is as it should be as this is the situation for most of the time. I was asked to photograph the “Triabunna 13”, however, the group whose protest brought about the famous photos of the conga-line of loaded log trucks queued up outside the Triabunna chip mill, which perhaps brought home more than anything the sheer scale of the removal of old-growth forests:
So when the ObserverTree project started, I photographed Miranda at its beginnings.
Perhaps the pinnacle of this was my visit to the platform in the tree to take photographs of Miranda, as to me this was a notable point in the history of the whole sorry forests saga and as such definitely needed to be photographed – a non-violent, non-confrontational protest streaming live to the world over the Internet. I’ll confess to finding the method of ascent into that tree just a tad terrifying, and once up there the precarious perch and acute lack of space became more than evident.
Now, months later and after a time which I don’t think anyone predicted would stretch for this long, I have to admit to having to re-evaluate my thoughts on the hardship that someone might deliberately subject themselves to in order to stand up for something they believe in. Miranda’s dedicated protest is certainly both extraordinary and astonishing, no matter what anyone might think of the reasons for her doing so. I found the few hours I spent up there taxing enough, and the fact that she is still there nearly five months since ascending that rope simply beggars belief. Conditions are unbelievably exposed, cramped and isolated, and I doubt most people could endure more than a day or two up there at the most. With no end in sight, this is simply an amazing feat of endurance and commitment.
Perhaps my favourite photo from that afternoon in the tree was this one, as a cold front swept through. Perched on the edge of the platform, hanging on to her ropes with the wind blowing the rain, branches and her dangling leg almost horizontal, yet still with a broad grin on her face, it perfectly captures Miranda simply being Miranda.
Guest Blog Bio: Alan Lesheim
Alan Lesheim is a career photographer, working full-time in photography since entering RMIT University (Melbourne) to study Illustrative Photography in 1971. Employed as an advertising photographer after graduating in 1973, he moved on to work at a portraiture and wedding studio in 1981, starting his own business in late 1982. By 1985 this had morphed into a specialist wholesale photographic restoration and copy service for retail outlets all over Australia. This continued after he moved to Tasmania in January 1995, although in later years as the digital revolution reduced the quantity of restoration work this has been increasingly supplanted with photographing in the forests and covering both news and social events, usually taken with emphasis on the potential historical record of such photographs, many of which he prints and displays in his own gallery. Always a history buff, he sees this as the purest form of the photographic art. Embracing digital photography for the possibilities it brings in better photographing things in previously impossible ways, he often works at the cutting edge of the technology in order to better display scenes as naturally as possible. Sometimes this can involve the combination of hundreds of photographs into the one finished result, exactly as the eyes and brain constantly do together in normal human vision.
Media Release: Tasmania’s forest groups looking for swift resolution and forest protection
Grassroots environment groups will take a watching brief over the next fortnight of forest talks in Tasmania, after today’s announcement that Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT) will return to the table for negotiations. Huon Valley Environment Centre, Still Wild Still Threatened and Code Green remind people today that unique forests are still being destroyed.
“While verified world-heritage value forests disappear and critical endangered species habitat vanishes, the native forest logging industry lingers in an irreversible decline. Immediate protection of 572 000ha of native forest, and a transition out of industrial scale native forest logging, is the only solution for the environment and the industry,” said Ms. Weber spokesperson for Huon Valley Environment Centre.
“FIAT has been holding back these talks over the future of forest protection in Tasmania. The negotiations have been stalled while FIAT remained outside the process and continued to level false accusations at community groups highlighting environmental concerns. We recognise the positive gesture by FIAT to proactively engage in securing a protection outcome,” Jenny Weber said.
“Tasmania’s native forests and wildlife are unique icons that draw international attention. To squander assets of such immeasurable value is to fuel the downward spiral in the current native forest industry. Protection of the verified 572 000ha of high conservation value forest and a transition to an ethical and sustainable industry is the way forward to securing stability in international markets,” said Miranda Gibson of Still Wild Still Threatened.
“We would like to remind everyone that while the negotiations occur the logging of world heritage value and unique native forests is continuing. A resolution is needed within a strict timeframe so the ongoing logging in these precious ecosystems ceases. I will continue to occupy this mature eucalypt tree, known as the ObserverTree, in these threatened forests until protection is secure,” Miranda Gibson said.
“These are iconic world heritage value forests in Tasmania and now it’s time for their legislated protection. This is a crucial moment for the Intergovernmental Agreement which could result in these globally significant forests being given the protection they deserve.” said Jared Irwin of CODE GREEN.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 150
One hundred and fifty days! Wow! And it’s snowing! Amazing how I celebrated my 100th day in the snow and now the forest is providing another beautiful snow day to celebrate 150 days. Can you believe that I have been here at the top of this tree for that long? Today I celebrate this day as a milestone. As a symbol, I guess you could say, of my determination to protect this forest. And so today I want to reflect on what it has like to be living in this tree for five months. And to share this journey with you.
Weld Valley – Pete Maarseveen.
Of course, while it is a great achievement in many ways to have stayed up here for five months so far. There are is another side to it. And that is that every single day of those 150 days is another day in which the forests have remained under threat. Every day of that 150 days there has been precious forests of world heritage value being lost across Tasmania. Forests that were meant to be under a conservation agreement. The very forest that are the subject of the negotiations and are ear-marked as future reserves. Sadly, a lot trees can be felled in 150 days.
And so it my sincere hope that I will not be sitting here in another 150 days. Simply because I don’t think that Tasmania’s forests can afford to wait that long. So please, help me to celebrate this milestone today by taking part in the cyber action so that these forests can get the protection they deserve and so I don’t have to be up here for too many more milestones! If you’ve already signed the online action, you can still help out today by spreading the message, getting your friends to sign on and sharing it online. CLICK ON THE TASSIE DEVIL PICTURE BELOW TO TAKE ACTION
Sassafras in rainforest
Five months ago now I climbed a rope to the top of this tree and vowed not to come down until this forest was protected. It has been an incredible journey, with challenges and rewards along the way. One of the most rewarding things has been getting to know this forest so well. Not only have I come to appreciate the value of this forest, it has also been assessed by a government endorsed independent team of scientific experts in that time. This verification assessment found this area to contain world heritage value, providing clear evidence of the significance of these forests and the importance of protecting them.
The other incredible experience of these past five months has been the level of support I have received from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. What an overwhelming response I have had so far with so many messages of support and encouragement. I think the highlight for me was the global 24 hours of action (feb 14/ 15), with over 70 actions across 15 countries around the world calling for the protection of Tasmania’s forests. This action sent a strong and clear message to the corporate customers of Ta Ann that people around the world do not want to buy products that come from the destruction of Tasmania’s precious native forests.
There is clear evidence that this logging coupe where my tree is located is due to be logged in order to supply logs to Malaysian company Ta Ann. The company have been identified in official documents as the key driver behind the ongoing logging in high conservation value forests. Yet they continue to misleadingly market their products internationally as being “eco” wood and coming from plantation sources. I believe that the customers who are buying these products have the right to know the truth about where the wood is coming from. I also believe that Ta Ann needs to be accountable for the lies they are telling in the global market, and they need to be accountable to the community here in Tasmania, whose precious environment they are impacting. That is why I am committed to staying up in this tree. because I want to expose to the world the truth about the ongoing destruction of these forests and by doing so hopefully inspire others to take action to help protect these forests forever.
Of course there have been some challenging times. And those of you who have been following my blog over the past five months would know this well. There have been times of loneliness, isolation and frustration. There have been many hard nights battling the elements of cold, wind, rain and hail. Sometimes it can feel all a bit overwhelming, but then I look out over the forest around me and remember what it is I am standing up for, remember why I am here. And suddenly those challenges don’t seem to matter, they seem so small compared to the challenges faced by the forests as it is met by chainsaws, or the young Tasmanian devil trapped in its den when the trees begin to fall.
A
nd I will tell you this; the rewards of being up here for the past five months certainly outweigh the challenges. The beauty of each sunrise and sunset, starry night skies and moon lit mountains. Days of softly falling snow. Wedge tail eagles souring above, and owls swooping into the branches of my tree. Morning wake up calls from Carrawongs. And a deep and growing feeling of connection.
Probably one of the most special days was the day I discovered the baby Tasmanian devil that is my close neighbour. My support crew regularly go out to check the hidden remote sensor cameras that are set up around the forest. These cameras record footage of wildlife. When I pulled up my rope that day, took the SD card out of the bag and popped it in the computer, I couldn’t believe it… the cutest little devil sniffing and bouncing around. It was a moment of hope. Because the last time devils had been seen on our cameras was when a mother devil was filmed on December 12th. The night before logging began in the area. Luckily the logging only continued for a few days after I climbed the tree. And I am so glad to see this little devil survived and is now out of the den and exploring the world!
Thank you to everyone who has been following my blog, all those loyal readers who have followed my journey over these months, and to all the people who are just discovering my blog for the first time. And speaking of loyal readers of my blog; check out out this slideshow made by an ObserverTree supporter ( click on the image to view slideshow).
Talk to you tomorrow for my 151st day 🙂
Miranda
Please help protect Tasmania’s precious forests.
Click HERE to sign the online action.
P.s. With winter approaching I’m need of a few extra things to help stay warm and dry. Any donation you can spare would be appreciated and put to good use! Observer Tree bank details:
Bendigo Bank
Acc:144673571
Bsb:633000
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 148
I watched the sunrise, the air cold against my face as I peered out from my sleeping bag. Golden morning light filled the valley. It started to rain, a soft gentle rain that glistened like little diamonds as the morning sun was reflected in each and every drop. I couldn’t see the mountains beyond, all I could see was a thick golden glowing mist stretching forever into the distance, sparkling with a million diamonds. It was a spectacular morning. And while I lay there cosy in my sleeping bag, Rosie watched the very same sunrise as it shed it’s light across the harbour. She had been up for hours already. And in the predawn light she and two others had crept quietly into the confines of Hobart wharf. And now as the sun began to rise, the dark shadows taking form, illuminating the huge ship with its great cranes that reached up into the sky, Rosie sat perched high above the ground.
Unlike my tree top perch, her position was less comfortable, straddling the crane. Unlike my view of beautiful trees alive with the chatter of early morning bird calls… Rosie looked down onto a boat loaded with veneer, thin slabs of what had once been beautiful trees, once alive with the chatter of birds too. Now they lay packed onto pallets, the only sound the plastic wrapping flapping in the wind. When I asked Rosie this afternoon about the action, she said the thing she remembers most is looking at these strange blocks of wood and thinking “they look so different. It’s hard to even imagine the tall eucalypt forests,tree-lined ridges and rainforest gullies that they were once a part of. Now they sit lifelessly on this boat on their way to the international market, to end up as flooring” she said.
Looking out across the harbour as the sun came up, Rosie mused that her life is quite interesting! She imagined if herself at aged 10 could see her now! She never would have thought this is where she would end up… perched on a crane atop a veneer ship. So I asked her, “what is it that led that 10-year-old to grow up to do what you’re doing? why did you end up there?” She laughed and said that she liked the view. Then she laughed again and said she did it because someone has to. This was kind of a joke, but there is truth in it too. The forests are getting destroyed and if no one does anything we could very well lose them forever. “You know that saying, how does it go? Its better to die on ones feet than live on ones knees? Well, that’s what it makes me think of” Rosie pondered “I believe it’s better to stand up for what you believe in, than to just stand back and do nothing. That’s why I do it, because I believe we have to do everything we can to protect the last remaining wilderness left on the planet”
And why this crane? Well, the veneer being loaded onto this ship is from Ta Ann. It is the product that is driving the ongoing destruction of our high conservation value forest. Yet this very veneer, being loading onto that ship today will end up in Japan and will be sold as “eco ply.” Spokesperson for today’s action, Jenny Weber from the Huon Valley Environment Centre said “As recent as this week, Malaysian news reports and Australian online industry news, claimed that ‘Ta Ann is producing eco-friendly products for the Japanese market using entirely imported logs from its plantation in Tasmania’,”
Rosie sat uncomfortably crouched on the cold metal crane in the chilly Hobart morning air. As I peered out from my sleeping bag, she was peering out from her marine jump suit that kept her warm, apart from the cold breeze across her face. After several hours she was removed by police, who came up beside her in their own crane. The rest of the day was spent in the confines of the police station. It was late in the afternoon by the time she walked out of there, weary and holding her notice for appearance in court on the charge of trespass.
“I can’t just stand back and let this company destroy Tasmania’s unique ancient forests” Rosie said when I asked her how she had felt about taking part in the action. “There are spectacular forests right across the state being clearfelled right now to produce this product. And the horrible thing about it is that people buying it belive it is environmentally friendly. We need to do something to expose the truth behind these destructive lies.”
It had been a big day, so I thought I better let Rose get off the phone. She was just about to head home when I called her to catch up on how the day had gone. So I guess she’s headed back to her house for a well-earned rest. And now I’m back in my sleeping bag, writing this underneath a starry sky. As I look out across the silhouettes of eucalypt branches I sincerely hope that they never end up on the Hobart wharf wrapped in plastic and destined for Japan. And I am hopeful. Because although am all alone in my tree top perch, I am not on my own in this fight to protect these forests. I am joined not only by Rosie, but by people all around the world, by thousands of people in fact. They may not all be climbing onto ships and up cranes, but they are getting online and signing the cyber action! And the more people who do the better chance we will have of making sure this forest never becomes flooring.
Please take a minute to help defend Tasmania’s ancient forests.
Click HERE to sign the online cyber action.
Guest Blog: Sea Shepherd
The 2012 Bob Barker crew from The Sea Sheperd recently visited The Observer Tree.
Guest Blog Bio: Sea Seapherd
Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.
Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 145
It’s funny how the everyday reality of living in a tree has become so normal for me now that it appears even in my dreams. In most of my dreams even if I am not in the tree or doing anything related to the forest, I am still marked in some way by my tree-top experiences. Most commonly this is through the presence of my rope. It pops up in most of my dreams, for example trying to shut a door but I can’t because my rope was in the way! In another dream I was on my front porch talking to the neighbours, my rope was trailing out the front door, attached to me and I was trying to hide it so as not to give away the fact that I was a “greenie.” Or sometimes I suddenly realise I’m wearing my harness. People tried to say that I could probably take it off, given that I was no longer living in a tree, but for some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I often have dreams where I realise my tree-sit is different to how it really is (usually being a lot fancier). One time I dreamt that I suddenly became aware that I had an entire apartment attached to my tree sit! I walked in and someone was there boiling the kettle. I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to realise that it was there, and that all that time I could have simply popped next door to boil the kettle had I felt like a cup of tea. It was so warm and dry in there and I wondered why I had ever been sitting out on that cold wet platform all these months! In my dream I fell asleep on a soft and cosy red couch in the apartment. It was so vivid that when I really awoke in the pitch black night I felt disoriented and thought I was still on the red couch. As my eyes adjusted to the faint glow of moonlight I realised that it had all been a dream and I was really in my sleeping bag inside my swag.
I had another dream where I was showing people around my tree sit and realised that I had a proper bathroom with a flushing toilet and a shower. My guests were amazed and asked me why I insisted on using a bucket for my toilet when I had all the facilities I needed. I couldn’t quiet work out the answer!
Even in dreams that have nothing to do with tree-sitting I often have moments where I suddenly think to myself: “what am I doing here? I’m meant to be in the tree!” And start panicking that I have abandoned my tree top post!
It makes me wonder what things will actually be like when I get down. Will I really want to wear my harness around for quite some time, still trailing my rope like a tail? Just because I am so used to it’s presence in my life? Will I sometimes I look down and panic when I see it’s absence? Will I have moments where I wonder what I’m doing and why I’m not in a tree? Will I want to use a bucket instead of a toilet? (Probably not!).
Will I wake in the middle of the night disoriented and unsure of where I am. Eventually as my eyes adjust to the pale light from the street lamps outside I will realise that I am asleep inside a room surrounded by four walls, instead of in my swag looking out over the moonlit forest.
Sweet dreams,
Miranda.
Please take a minute to help defend Tasmania’s ancient forests.
Click HERE to sign the online cyber action.
T h e O b s e r v e r T r e e 
