Julia Lorraine Hill, born on February 18, 1974, is best known as Julia Butterfly Hill. She is an American environmental activist and tax advocate. From December 10, 1997, to December 18, 1999, she lived in a tent near the top of a 200-foot (61 m)-tall, approximately 1,000-year-old California redwood tree. The tree was named Luna. She stayed there for 738 days to stop the Pacific Lumber Company loggers from cutting it down. Hill reached an agreement with the company to save the tree. She wrote the book The Legacy of Luna in 2000 and co-wrote One Makes the Difference.

Pre–tree sit

Hill’s father was a traveling minister who moved from town to town with his family. Until she was about ten years old, Hill lived in a 32-foot (9.8 m) camper with her father, Dale; her mother, Kathy; and her brothers, Mike and Dan. Julia is the middle child. While traveling, Hill often explored rivers near campgrounds. When Hill was seven years old, she and her family were hiking one day when a butterfly landed on her finger and stayed there for the entire hike. From that day forward, her nickname became “Butterfly.” She chose to keep that nickname for the rest of her life.

When Hill was in middle school, her family stopped traveling and moved to Jonesboro, Arkansas. In August 1996, at age 22, Hill was in a serious car crash. At the time, she was driving a friend who had been drinking. Her friend’s car was hit from behind by a driver who was also drunk. The steering wheel of the car went through her skull. It took nearly a year of hard therapy before she could speak and walk normally. Hill said:

After the accident, Hill began a spiritual journey. This journey led her to support an environmental cause that worked to protect the redwood forests in Humboldt County, California.

Tree sit

After recovering from her accident, Hill went on a road trip to California and attended a reggae event to help save the forests. A group called "front-liners" took turns placing people in giant redwood trees in Humboldt County to stop Pacific Lumber Co. loggers from cutting down trees. The trees were on a high, windy ridge above the community of Stafford, which is south of Scotia. On New Year's Eve 1996, a landslide in Stafford caused by logging on steep slopes above the community buried most of the area up to 17 feet (5.2 m) in mud and debris. Eight homes were completely destroyed. Organizers needed someone to stay in the tree for one week. "Nobody else would volunteer, so they had to choose me," said Hill.

At first, Hill was not part of any environmental group. She decided on her own to take part in peaceful protest. Soon, she was supported by Earth First! and other groups, as well as volunteers. On December 10, 1997, Hill climbed a 1,000-year-old redwood tree struck by lightning to a height of 180 feet (55 m). The tree was near Stafford and had been called “the Stafford Giant.” Because the Moon was rising, activists named the tree “Luna” (Spanish for “Moon”) to honor the event.

Hill lived on two small platforms, each 6 by 4 feet (1.8 by 1.2 m), for 738 days. She learned survival skills, such as not washing the soles of her feet often because tree sap helped her grip branches better. She used solar-powered phones for interviews, became a reporter for a TV show, and hosted TV crews to protest the cutting of old-growth forests. With ropes, Hill brought up supplies from an eight-person support team. To stay warm, she wrapped herself tightly in a sleeping bag, leaving a small hole for breathing. For meals, she used a single-burner propane stove. She endured freezing rain, 40 mph (64 km/h) winds from El Niño, helicopter harassment, a ten-day attack by company guards, and threats from loggers.

In 1999, Pacific Lumber Co. agreed to protect Luna and all trees within a 200-foot (61 m) area around it. In return, Hill left the tree, and the $50,000 she and activists raised during her time in the tree was given to the company. The company also donated the same amount to Cal Poly Humboldt for research on sustainable forestry.

Later, vandals damaged the tree with a chainsaw. A supporter found a deep gash in the tree’s base in November 2000. The cut was 32 inches (810 mm) deep and 19 feet (5.8 m) around the base. The tree was treated with an herbal remedy and stabilized with steel cables. In 2001, engineer Steve Salzman led a team to design a support system to help the tree survive strong winds. Cal Poly Humboldt professor Steven Sillett helped with the plan. By spring 2007, the tree was healthy and growing new branches each year. Caretakers climb the tree regularly to check its condition and maintain the steel wires. Luna is now cared for by Sanctuary Forest, a nonprofit organization.

Post–tree sit

Since her tree sit, Hill has become a motivational speaker, an author, and the co-founder of the Circle of Life Foundation (which helped organize We the Planet, an environmentally friendly music tour) and the Engage Network, a nonprofit that trains small groups of civic leaders to work toward social change.

On July 16, 2002, Hill was jailed in Quito, Ecuador, outside the offices of Occidental Petroleum for protesting a proposed oil pipeline that would cross a protected Andean cloud forest with many rare bird species. Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa said, "The little gringos have been arrested, including the old cockatoo who climbs trees." Hill was later deported from Ecuador.

In 2003, Hill supported tax redirection by refusing to pay about $150,000 in federal taxes. Instead, she donated the money to after-school programs, arts and culture programs, community gardens, programs for Native Americans, alternatives to jail, and environmental protection programs. She said:

In 2006, Hill protested the sale of the South Central Farm to try to stop the 14-acre (5.7 ha) farm from being taken by developers.

In popular culture

Julia Hill has been featured in many documentaries, interviews, and books, including her own 2000 autobiography, The Legacy of Luna. She has inspired many musicians and artists:

• On December 10, 1998, a charity concert was held at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, California, during Julia's "tree sit." Performers included Bob Weir and Mark Karan as an acoustic duo, the Steve Kimock Band, and the Mickey Hart Band. Julia participated by reading her poem "Luna" over the phone while the Mickey Hart Band performed "The Dancing Sorcerer."
• The character Sierra Tierwater in the 2000 novel A Friend of the Earth by T. Coraghessan Boyle was partly inspired by Julia.
• Julia was the subject of the 2000 PBS POV documentary Butterfly. She is also in the film Tree-Sit: The Art of Resistance. Both films show her time in the redwood tree.
• The 2000 The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Tree Hugger" was created after writer Matt Selman heard a news story about Julia.
• In Gilmore Girls Season 3, Episode 8 (November 2002), Rory mentions "that girl Butterfly who lived in a tree for a year" and says, "I can officially attest that she was nuts."
• In the 2002 children's book Judy Moody Saves the World, Judy Moody looks up to Julia as an activist.
• Julia appeared as a Special Guest Expert on the Bullshit! episode "Environmental Hysteria" in 2003.
• A film adaptation of The Legacy of Luna, directed by Laurie Collyer and starring Rachel Weisz, was stuck in the planning stage. Weisz worked to bring the project to life.
• Julia and her story were included in the 2010 documentary Hempsters: Plant the Seed by Michael P. Henning.
• The 2015 children's book Luna and Me: The True Story of a Girl Who Lived in a Tree to Save a Forest, by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, retells Julia's experience in Luna.
• The 2017 Swedish children's book Julia räddar skogen (Julia Saves the Forest) by Niklas Hill and Anna Palmqvist is named after Julia. The story follows a child who lives in a tree to stop a highway from being built.
• In The Overstory by Richard Powers, the character Olivia Vandergriff is loosely based on Julia.

• Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall wrote a song called "Kissed by Mist" about Julia.
• In 2002, the band Los Suaves released a song titled "Julia Hill" on their album Un paso atrás. The singer is referred to as "Luna."
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2003 song "Can't Stop" includes the line "J. Butterfly is in the treetop."
• Neil Young mentioned Julia in the 2003 song "Sun Green" on the Greendale album, where the character says, "Still wants to meet Julia Butterfly."
• Casey Desmond wrote a song titled "Julia Butterfly Hill," which appeared on her 2006 album No Disguise.
• In 2009, Idina Menzel wrote a song called "Butterfly" that references Julia's environmental work.
• The musical Redwood, inspired by Julia, premiered in 2024 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California and opened on Broadway on February 13, 2025.
• In 2026, Sheldon King created an acoustic guitar meditation for Julia.