Economy
Tassie tree-sitter claims Australian record
Environmental activist Miranda Gibson has set an Australian record for a tree-sitting protest in defense of Tasmania’s forests.
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 (TT: The visit from Mum).
A wireless internet connection and mobile phone help her beam …