Over the past 2 weekends, members from Rainforest Action Network and Global Exchange have provided training and support to the “Save the Oaks” Campaign in Berkeley. Save the Oaks is an inspiring group of students and community members trying to stop the University of Berkeley’s plans to clear a grove of historic Live Oaks and Coastal Redwoods to expand their sporting facilities. This unique eco-system, the last grove of coastal live oak (Quercus Agrifolia) in the Berkeley lowlands, is supposed to be protected by municipal code. However, the University (the largest landowner in Berkeley) asserts that as a state entity they are “not obliged to obey local environmental laws” – and has voted to move forward with clearing these trees, despite the chorus of objections from community members, students, neighbors, and environmentalists. Lawsuits are pending – but in the meantime students and community members have taken direct action to save the grove!
On the morning of December 2nd – several community members began climbing and occupying several trees – physically preventing the University from cutting these beautiful oaks. They established platforms in the trees for sleeping, raised banners into the canopy, and set up an entire ground support station – providing them with food and water, and offering round-the-clock outreach to educate the community about the campaign. Community support has been amazing and they’ve gotten great coverage from local media. And even a former Berkeley mayoral candidate spent the first week in the trees! (We know, only in Berkeley right?)
On Sunday December 12th, members of RAN and Global Exchange facilitated a training in Non-Violent Direct Action with students and Save the Oaks members. About 25 participants learned about the history and strategies of non-violent direct action and its effectiveness in empowering communities to fight for justice. And the following Sunday, we returned to offer trainings on tree climbing, rope work, and safety. Students and community members were excited to learn new skills to apply to their struggle to Save the Oaks, and we look forward to supporting them put these skills into action. And most importantly – we highlighted how many of the global struggles RAN takes on to protect forests can work side-by-side local struggles to save trees right in our own backyards.
Learn more about the campaign at Save the Oaks!
And see more photos of the training at Ran Flickr.
Twitter Updates
There will someday for a time be great ceremony for forests. Keep up the great work. If you guys need support in the future, pleae contact Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger and tell him him his friend Fernando Valentin asks also. Remind him good luck, and peace be with you.
We had a stand of garry oaks here in B.C. , at the one of the hospital sites in our province, and they were destroyed. Little was done to save them, I hope you do better than we did. Did you hear about the oak tree in Britain that was in the way of a new highway? The tree was over a thousand years old, and there was a huge protest, but once again the developers ruled, and it was cut down, or the renewed logging in Bialoweza in Poland and Beloruss. For some strange reason they think the world needs oaks from one of the last virgin moist deciduous forests in Europe, or the new “Baltic highway” that will go through poloand from the east to the west. That too will destroy more ancient oaks and elms, but the world knows about these issues, and people will remember, and maybe not now but in the not too distant future will rise up in even greater numbers to protect the Gaia that we love!
I am amazed how much power organizations like the Rainforest Action Network has. Your little blurb here doesn’t mention that the UC Regents will replace each oak tree with three. When construction of the athletic facility is complete, there will be MORE TREES. IN FACT, it will be THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF TREES. How stupid are you to not see the benefits.
What a propaganda rag this blog is! How about telling the truth about how these trees were planted as simple landscaping by the University less than 80 yrs ago. How about telling your readers how a massive forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains that truly is an old grove, is about to be felled.
You do trees a great disservice by discrediting your cause with such frivolous protest. The only reason you have jumped on the special land interest bandwagon is because you NEED attention. Try going to Brazil you jerk bags, save a real rainforest, not one planted by humans for simple aesthetic pleasure.
How nice to see you deleted and did not post my response to your article. I guess my disagreeing with your ideological maelstrom did not sit well with you. Only people who say “yes master” get to post on your blog. Niiiice!
First things first.
Lets remember that the city of Berkeley has a law called the Berkeley Coast Live Oak Moratorium, that forbids cutting down mature native oaks. All 38 Coast Live Oaks that UC wants to cut down should be protected by that law, but the University says they are not required to obey our local environmental laws.
In reponse to the claim that UC will plant 3 new trees for ones they cut down.
The current oak grove is a complex functioning ecosystem, cutting down the trees would destroy that ecosystem. The “replacement” trees would be scattered around the campus and would in no way be a replacement for the existing ecosystem. Only a couple new trees could even be planted near the grove, because the grove will be taken over by a huge concrete building. Essentially what the University is doing is convieniently taking credit for landscaping projects that they already want to do in other parts of campus and then claiming those planting projects as “replacement” trees against those that would be lost at the oak grove. That is the dirty little secret of “replacement” tree promises, the replacement trees are really just maintenance plantings in other parts of campus.
To add insult to injury, UC recently revealed that only 25% of the “replacement” trees would even be oaks.
As for the false claim that UC planted all the trees it wants to cut down, the Memorial Grove contains oak trees of many different ages not just trees that were planted by the University. Many of the trees were planted around the time the stadium was built, but several major oaks predate the stadium, including a massive heritage oak which is aprox. 200 years old. But more importantly there are many oaks in the grove which PLANTED THEMSELVES. That is the most important point here, because the grove is a functioning Coast Live Oak ecosystem it is regenerating itself, so it is innacurate for the University to claim that they palnted all the trees, when in fact many of the trees were planted by mother nature.
I just wanted to share a fun new short film I put up on youtube about the oak grove.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0xGw2zMvbA
Gio
This is really sad. It appears several persons that don’ like to bath are living in trees that were planted 80 years ago in order to save the “natural” forest. Get a life. It is no wonder Bush has not been impeached. Fools like you are the ones who made up the lies about Bush lying.
Actually the university has never said that 25% of the trees would be Oaks. It has said that each tree cut down would be replaced with a specimen Oak tree as well as two additional younger trees.
I enjoy seeing the tree sitters sitting on their little wooden platforms. Just kind of screams hypocrite. Not to mention all the trees that were cleared to make way for the Friends of the Oaks when they were building their multi million dollar mansions in the Berkeley Hills. RickySays you hit it right on the head, these losers are doing environmentalism a complete disservice, protesting an organization that has come up with an unbelievable plan. We should be so lucky that all developers acted in such an environmentally friendly way. Do some real good and find an actual forest to save, not a landscaping project. These guys clearly just picked a project that would garner a few headlines, their motivations are completely self serving and to consider them supporters of the environment is a joke-
At least they’re trying. Instead of just complaining about how trivial or hypocritical this cause is and how these people should go make a difference where it’s needed, how about you shut up. If you want a change, you go make it. These people are making a difference where they can. No matter how small or insignificant you think it may be, they’re doing much more than you who’s complaining.
If this does bring attention to the cause, more power to them.
Dude, treesitting is awesome as long as the pot gets delivered on time dude. Hell no we wont … dude, what what I saying dude?
sad to see noone seems to care about these old-growth trees, in OAKland of all places.. but the developer is gonna get away with chopping them down to make condos no doubt. wish some tree-defenders would come to their aid:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=oakland+ave+monte+vista&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.27475,74.882813&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&cbll=37.821718,-122.248612&cbp=1,365.16775742896845,,0,-2.2050533283761897&ll=37.826091,-122.248371&spn=0.009339,0.021651&z=16
Speaking as a Ronald Reagan-loving Republican (and U.C. Berkeley alumnus, 1982) the tree-sitters are heroes. This is passive resistance in the tradition of Gandhi. Oh, the oaks are only 80 years old? So what! I enjoy Cal football, but I also believe in preservation of the natural environment. This is an issue where the environmentalists and the Tightwad Hills types come together (I’ve never watched a game from Tightwad Hill, but future generations ought to have that opportunity). Power to the people!
Yes… the Ecosystem would be destroyed by removing the trees. But aren’t the treesitters TAMPERING with that ecosystem already??? Remove the trees, plant thrice the trees elsewhere and recreate a new and larger ecosystem.
It is telling that no one has explained why we are better off with a training facility than an oak grove. You want a place to work out? Try the Ricky Henderson workout (100 puchups and 200 situps a day)which you can do in the grove of oaks if you like.
Shouldn’t the people wanting to cut down trees that are clearly protected by Berkeley law be required to show how this action will benefit the citizens of Berkeley? And what about the logic of building on top of the Hayward fault? Maybe the treesitters are actually saving a bunch of clueless jocks from being crushed in the big one.
I am a Social Justice attorney who fully supports Environmental Activism, Civil Demonstrations, Civil Rights and other forms of Social Protest, and I would LOVE to represent any tree sitters or other environmental activists who find their Civil Rights being infringed by the State, especially by Police Misconduct or Brutality, or who are in need of sharp Criminal Defense.
I have sliding-scale rates as low as $50 per hour, and sometimes do Pro Bono work. I am a Director on the Board of the San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild, a UC Hastings graduate, and I have excellent experience in Non Profit Environmental and Plaintiff-Side Litigation and Criminal Defense.
My webpage is http://www.AlyEsquire.Blogspot.com. My name is Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq.. My email is AlyEsquire@Gmail.com. My cell phone is 510.910.3198. I have multiple offices around the Bay Area, and I speak fluent Spanish, French, Italian, and Farsi, and basic German.
Give me a call if you are a tree-sitter or other activist in need of top-notch, ethical, and supportive legal representation in a civil or criminal matter.
I fully support the Rainforest Action Network, the work of Earth First and other radical environmental and animal rights organizations, and I am very eager to work with others with similar feelings.
An attorney friend of mine is presently working with the Tree Sitters as their attorney, and I would also love to take part in such litigation, or in litigation representing any peace and justice activist in any matter.
Big Shout-Out to the Brothers and Sisters swinging in Trees,
Aly Ebrahimzadeh, Esq.
Attorney-Activist
http://www.AlyEsquire.Blogspot.com
AlyEsquire@Gmail.com
Cell: 510.910.3198
This is the truth, plain and simple: The oak grove is a landscaping project planted during the construction of memorial stadium in the twenties. It is university property, not an ancient oak grove/burial ground as the idiotic hippy tree huggers claim. I would be up the with them if the tree sitters were trying to save a RAINFOREST, not a grove of ugly oaks by a FOOTBALL STADIUM. The new athletic facility and the seperate stadium renovation will be a boon to recruiting, finally thrusting Cal into that ring of yearly championship contenders that they should have been all along. Berkeley needs the unity that a very good sports team can provide, and the stadium will be beautiful along with an excellent sports and academic facility for the student athletes to change (the girls softball team changes in their cars), work out, and study. Tree sitters: I support saving nature, and I support helping the eco-system and environment. I am a Berkeley leftist just like you are. But saving some trees by a huge cement football stadium that aren’t old by any means and arent part of an eco-system is not helping the environment, it is just creating more division and conflict in Berkeley. Get out of the trees and I will pay for a flight to the Amazon where there are cutting down rainforests for wood.
Thanks to the people who are trying to save the oaks. They are the lungs of our world and a rich ecosystem.I fully support what you are doing to save the trees! There are many who are with you…I wish I could join you in the canopy, my friends! Do not give up never, never, never!These matters are of utmost importance.The trees give us so much…if anyone does not understand this, you do not understand much. They are worth more than a million dollars each to our environment. Bless you that are brave enough to actually try to DO something and believe in the beauty of NATURE!
My educational background is that of Resource Management Forestry and Environmental Studies Law and Planning. I support the protection of the trees. I do not practice forestry since sustainable forestry as we are taught is not a goal of our current management practices. Global Warming gives us the idea that harvesting trees can impact global warming. Since Berkely is supposed to teach Forestry and Environmental Studies for the State of California I would not hold this States view of Environmental issues very high or consider suspect. Where is the Governor (Head of State University System) now?